Miss Fiora
by ColorfulTape
Summary: The women of Fairy Tail enter the Miss Fiora pageant! Women from all over the land of Fiore come to enter the contest. Of course, it wouldn't be fun if our favorite male members of Fairy Tail didn't show up too! It seems like a fun and entertaining contest, but something dark is brewing for the members of the famous guild...NaLu,GaLe,LaMi,Jerza,Gruvia! Some Lisanna bashing!
1. Chapter 1

Normal POV:

Lucy sighed as she looked up at the request board. All of the current jobs either didn't cover her rent, or were one's she couldn't do on her own. Normally she would ask Natsu, Gray, Erza and Wendy to join her on a mission, but she felt neglected since Lisanna was constantly bugging Natsu, and Juvia would call her a rival if she so much as looked at Gray, and Wendy...well, she didn't want to do a difficult job, she didn't want Wendy to get hurt, after all.

Mira walked by Lucy and smiled. "So Lucy, are you going to be joining the 'Miss Fiora' pageant?" Lucy blinked a few times, looking over at Mira. "Miss Fiora pageant? I've never heard of it…" Cana laughed as she finished her third barrel of beer for the morning. "It's just some stupid contest used to get all the girls almost completely naked, then hate themselves when they can't win…" she said in a slurred voice. Mira laughed a little bit. "Cana got upset last year when she only placed tenth on the list." Lucy thought about it. "Hmm...I'm not really interested in doing random pageants just for the heck of it." Erza had been listening to her conversation and put down her cake. "Oh, so are you not interested in the 500,000 jewel reward? Not to mention you will be regarded as the guild's icon for quite awhile." she said, smirking.

Lucy gasped, _That's enough to pay for my rent for almost a year!_ "You can count me in!" Lisanna over heard them and smiled. _This is my chance! Maybe now I won't have to try and fight for Natsu's attention anymore! _"Me too! I think it will be a lot of fun!" Mira smiled brightly as she looked over at Laxus. When she caught his gaze she quickly looked away and blushed. "What about you, Wendy, Levy?" Wendy looked up bashfully. "M-Me? I-I don't know...Carla-" "She is much too young for events like this! I just will not have it!" Levy closed her book, thinking for a moment. "Hmm...Sure! Why not? What do you think, Gajeel?" Gajeel was, once again, eating the guild's silverware. "Huh? Yeah, sure, whatever….don't bother me while I'm eating…." Levy sighed, looking down at her book. _Maybe if I get in the top ranks...he will start to pay attention to me._..Jet and Droy were instantly by her side. "Don't worry Levy!" "We will be cheering for you the entire time!" "Yeah!" Levy smiled at her two teammates. "Thanks, you guys."

Mira hummed as she handed out a flyer to almost every female member of Fairy Tail. "You just need to sign these out and give them back to me, I'll turn them in for you!" All of the girls nodded, taking their time.

Juvia started to drool as she filled hers out. _Oh Gray, my love! If I win this, then I will forever win your heart! _Gray felt like someone was staring at him and he instantly got chills going up his spine. "Jeez...what's with this weird feeling?" he said, sitting down in just his boxers. Natsu looked at Gray in disgust. "Put some clothes on, you pervy popsicle!" Gray instantly headbutted Natsu. "Yeah, like you are one to talk, you nasty fire mouth!" They instantly started fighting, causing a big commotion in the guild. Someone knocked over the stack of extra fliers for the pageant, and Romeo grabbed one. "Huh…? A chance to win 500,000 jewel? Cool!" he quickly signed all of the information, sneaking his in with the girl's pile.

Far up in the sky a dark ominous castle sits on top of a mountain. In this castle sits a dark powerful man upon a throne. The man, Zadicus, appears to be in his late 30s or early 40s. He has midnight black hair and eyes. His presence drips of black magic and evil. As he sits on his throne he stares in a lacrima. In the lacrama he sees the Fairy tail guild hall. Just as he turns away from the lacrama his three sons enter the room. The eldest son Thorne, has dark black hair and electric green eyes. He is tall and muscular and seems to have an arrogant air about him. The second eldest, Maggart has lighter black hair with green eyes, he is just as handsome as his brother. He is quiet and has a powerful presence to him. The final son has gray hair with light blue eyes. He is not as handsome as his brothers but he has a strange aura of power to him.

"Well boys it seems our plan is moving along nicely." Zadicus said with pleasure. "It looks as if our targets have fallen for our trap as planned." Thorne looked at his father with excitement, "How much longer do we have to wait father?" "You promises us brides long ago! All this worrying and waiting isn't good for my handsome complexion!" Maggart looked at his older brother with irritation. "Oh get over yourself Thorne. It's not if these women actually have a choice. They will marry us whether they want to or not." Thorne turned to his brother in horror. "What do you mean get over myself? My face is my life! Just because you can't appreciate my beauty doesn't mean the woman won't!" Thorne looked at his brother with disgust. "You are absolutely hopeless!"

Virion looked at his two older brothers with amusement. They always knew exactly how to piss each other off. "When can we expect their arrival father?" Zadicus turned and smiled evilly at his youngest son. "The winners of the contest will join us in exactly three days. Then when we combine our power's with our new brides from Fairy Tail we will be invincible! Fiora will fall to it's knees before it's new rulers!" Thorne looks into his mirror to check for wrinkles. "As long as my beauty can be shared with the world and worshipped, I am pleased. It would make everyone's life better when they can see my face!" Maggart looked at his brother with absolute disappointment. "Why is it the only thing you are concerned with is your face? We have massive destructive powers and will soon rule the land of Fiora, and the only thing you are concerned about is your face!" Thorne turned to his brother with a smile. "That answer is simple my face is the most gorgeous and important thing in this world!"

Zadicus turns to his sons shaking his head. "Boys I have a job for you. You must go down to this Miss Fiora pageant. I need you to keep an eye on the proceedings of the contest. I need you to infiltrate the proceedings and get to know the contestants." "That sounds like servants work! Not work for this gorgeous face!" Whined Thorne. Zadicus sent a bolt of power towards Thorne. "Silence yourself Thorne and listen!" He said angrily. " Now once the final three contestants are decided thats when you will make your move. You need to lure them away from the group. Once you get them away, Virion, will use his magic and to knock them unconscious and transport them here. The rest of you will make sure he gets them here without interference. Then the real fun will begin!" All three boys looked at their father and smiled. "It shall be done father."


	2. Chapter 2

Lucy smiled in excitement as she boarded the train with the other female members of Fairy Tail. The boys were going to be joining them tomorrow, when the pageant starts. She found an empty spot and sat with Levy next to her and Mira and Erza sitting in front of her. "So Lucy, are you excited for the pageant?" Mira asked enthusiastically. Lucy nodded. "Of course! I can't wait to get there!" She glanced at Levy. "Hey, Levy, where's all of your luggage?" Levy smiled. "I didn't have room in here since Erza took up most of the space, so it's in another cart." Erza smiled, glancing at them ."You can never have too many things, a woman should never be unprepared." she said confidently.

A couple seats away, Lisanna, Juvia, Cana and Bisca were talking eagerly about the pageant. "I'm so excited! I really do hope I can get Gray's attention this way." Juvia said, squealing in delight as the train took off. Cana sighed, opening her jacket, which was full of smuggled wine. "Cana! You're not supposed to be drinking on the train!" Bisca said, irritated. Cana ignored her as she took a long drink from the bottle. Juvia continued to rant about her "Darling Gray!" and how they were just "Meant to be!" Bisca grabbed the bottle. "On second thought, you are pretty smart lady, ya know that?" She said, taking a drink from the bottle. Lisanna was staring out the window, ignoring everyone as she day dreamed about Natsu cheering her on.

Romeo squirmed in his seat, sitting next to Carla and Wendy. "So, what's your name?" Wendy asked innocently. "Ro-I mean...R-Ramona!" he said in a higher pitched voice. The guys found out about him entering, so they borrowed a dress and a wig, Loke being nice enough to take care of the beauty part. Wendy smiled. "Well, I'm Wendy! And this is Carla! I hope we both have fun at the event!" Romeo nodded. "y-yeah…"

The train ride lasted for a few hours before they all arrived at Carmilla station. Their bags were taken off the train as they walked to the high-class hotel all of the female guests would be staying at. There were women from all over Fiora, from lower guilds to just simple people who wanted to enter the contest. All of the Fairy Tail women grabbed their bags and found their rooms.

Levy and Lucy were sharing a room, Mira and Cana, Bisca and Erza, Lisanna and Juvia and finally Wendy and 'Ramona'. They all eagerly went into the rooms to get things set up.

Lucy and Levy were both putting their things in the closet and getting outfits set up for the events. "I'm so excited!" Lucy said in delight. Levy nodded. "Me too! I don't think I will win...but I don't mind!" Lucy smiled to Levy. "Oh, come on! You have as good as a chance as anyone else here! I'm sure you will place in the top ten at least!" Levy nodded ."yeah….maybe…"

Mira didn't have much luggage, she liked to travel light. Cana on the other hand...Most had bottles with her. Mira sighed. "You should really take care of that drinking habit of yours." Cana looked up at her. "Maybe you should take care of that loud mouth of yours. It's three in the afternoon and this is my first bottle of rum. I have a headache." she said with irritation in her voice. Mira only smiled, laughing a little. "Alright, I'll leave you be for now."

Bisca could help but shake her head as she watched Erza unpack. "Erza….why do you have so much stuff with ya if you can just requip your outfit?" she asked in confusion. Erza looked over at her. "It makes it feel more like a vacation, do you have a problem with it?" she asked in a dangerous tone. "N-Not at all!"

Juvia was covering her bed in all of her Gray plushies and pillows, most of which were hand made. She was quietly talking to herself. "Gray will surely fall in love with me!" Lisanna ignored her as she unpacked her own things, smiling. She was sure to win Natsu's love! She would not be bested by some blonde bimbo!

Romeo kept his head down as Wendy and Carla unpacked their bags. Carla glanced at Romeo. "Aren't you going to unpack your bags?" He nodded quickly, hanging up some of his stuff. He was nervous about sharing a room with her, after all, Wendy was his crush. He would never admit it, but he admired Wendy. She was strong, smart and brave...and she could use magic! No one else his age could do that, not even himself. He laid on his bed after unpacking and quickly fell asleep, exhausted.

Lucy watched her friends with amusement. After they had finished unpacking they had went out to eat. Except for Ramona as she was already sleeping like the dead. Mira and Erza were bickering to Cana about her drinking, while Levy was trying to convince Juvia she did not have a crush on Gray. No matter where they went they were always bickering. After dinner the group headed back to Levy and Lucy's room. "I'm not surprised you guys chose to hang out here. It's like deja vu with my apartment back at home." Lucy said exasperated. Suddenly she heard a gasp. "Oh my God Lucy what is this?" Erza said as she picked up a pair of Lucy's underwear. "It looks like just a random scrap of fabric." Mira laughed. "Hey! Give them back!" Lucy squealed in embarrassment. "Is this the kind of clothing my rival wears to attract my Gray?" Juvia wondered to herself. "I must observe and adapt to win my love's affection!" "Guys seriously stop going through my things! It is a serious invasion of privacy!" Lucy yelled blushing scarlet red. "Don't you guys think it is time to turn in for the night?" Lucy asked. "We have a big day tomorrow!" "Yeah" Wendy giggled "We need to take a page out of Ramona's book, she is already sleeping." "Alright everyone back to your own rooms. Its time for bed!" "Yes captain Erza!" Everyone said as they got up and left.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day the entire train station in Hargeon was packed full of all of the male members of Fairy Tail. Macow and Wakaba were both fawning over the thought of Mira and Erza wearing cute outfits in the contest. Elfman was yelling at people about how "Mira is so manly! She is going to beat everyone and win the contest!" Gray was being dragged along by Makarov, because everyone knew that if Gray wasn't there than Juvia would most likely make it start raining, ruining the event. Laxus was secretly there to watch Mira. But everyone thought he was there just to support Fairy tail. Natsu was mostly excited because there was a casino near the hotel all of the girls were staying at. Also because he knew the food was free for the girls, and knew he could score some off of Lucy. "Man, I can't wait to get there! I'm sure the food is going to be great, especially if we can score some off of Lucy!" Happy sat next to Natsu. "Also because you loooove her!" Natsu blushed a little, as he glared at Happy. "Wha'd you say?!" Happy smiled to himself "Oh, nevermind, you wouldn't get it anyways." "You calling me stupid?" Gray smirked. "It takes stupid to know stupid." Natsu glared at him. "Then you must be the king of stupids!" "That doesn't even make sense!" Makarov quickly smacked both of them. "You two! behave! And no using your magic at the event! I don't want Fairy Tail to get banned from this event!"

Alzack was sitting by himself, day dreaming about Bisca winning. He hid under under his poncho to hide his blushing face.

Everyone got in their seats and Makarov stood up front. "Alright! Lets make sure that we cheer our girls on so they can bring home that prize money!" He said, everyone cheering loudly. Makarov was here to cheer his girls on, but he was also there for 'other' reasons.

It took a few hours to get to Carmilla station. The boys quickly got their things off of the train ,as Makow and Wakaba dragged Natsu off the train, and went to their hotel. They were sharing the same hotel as the girls, but they were on the bottom floor of the hotel.

All of the boys got their rooms organized, deciding who would bunk with who. The last room went to Natsu and Gray. "Why do I have to share a room with a cold rapist?" Gray huffed as he put his luggage down. "Yeah, like I want to share a room with a pissy pyro!" During their arguing, the door was kicked open and Gajeel came in, eating a spoon. "I'm taking this bed." he said, laying down on one of the beds.

"Who said that you get to be in here?! I already have to share this room with the popsicle over there!" Gajeel just glared at both of them. "All of the other rooms are full, besides…." he opened his luggage and started to eat a metal pipe. "You two won't mind me snacking in the middle of the night."

They continued to argue for the rest of the night until it was lights out. Gajeel was asleep on his bed, Natsu and Gray were sharing the other. "Quit hogging all of the blankets, Gray!" "Well, maybe you should just get used to the cold, idiot!" They continued to argue quietly before both of them getting to sleep. It was peaceful, until a certain dragon slayer kicked the ice-user out of the bed and onto the hard floor. "Natsu…!"


	4. Chapter 4

When Lucy woke up the morning of the first round of the pageant Levy was already gone. "She must have gotten up early to start getting ready." Lucy mumbled to herself. "Oh well best get ready and catch up with the group." Lucy sighed as she got up and dressed herself in a skirt and tube top. When she left the room she was greeted by the warm sun and clear sky. "I am so glad the weather is beautiful for the first round." A thick arm draped itself around her shoulders."Not as beautiful as you sunshine!' Said a deep voice. Lucy turned around quickly and found herself face to face with a man with dark black hair and the greenest eyes she had ever saw. She could see behind him two other men. The were all really handsome, but she found their presence cold and creepy. The feel of the mans arm on her made her skin crawl. "Thank you for the compliment….." "Oh so sorry for my rudeness my name is Thorne. But you can call me sexy fine , or handsome face if you want." Lucy wrinkled her nose in disgust. _Who did this guy think he was?_ "Ah… no thank you Thorne. But I need to get going. I'm sure my friends are wondering where I am." "Ah come on gorgeous you can hang out with us. Your beauty will compliment mine brilliantly!" Lucy widened her eyes in disbelief. "No means no creeper now let me go!" Lucy smacked his arm off his shoulder and stormed off. Thorne growled with anger and started after her. Maggart grabbed his arm to hold him back. "Let her go Thorne. Our job is to get them to like and trust us, not make them think we are sexually harassing them." "But she denied my beauty!" Thorne whined. "No one can deny my beautiful face!" "Enough you two." Virion said with impatience. "If we hurry and follow that girl she will lead us to the rest of the group." "How do you know that?" Thorne asked stupidly as they began to follow the girl. "Well its simple." Virion said with sarcasm. "If you wouldn't have been so busy undressing her with your eyes, you would have noticed the guild mark on her hand. That my brothers was a Fairy tail mage, one of our main objectives." Maggart beamed. "Excellent! What a stroke of luck!" Virion waved them forward impatiently. "Yes, now enough talking and lets see where she leads us."


	5. Chapter 5

Lucy walked into the hotel lobby. She was still furious about her confrontation with Mr. Creepy. As she continued walking through the lobby she saw Levy waving at her to come and join her with their friends. Glad that she finally found them Lucy hurried to join them. "About time you woke up Lucy." Levy said with a teasing tone as Lucy sat down at their table. "Well you could have woke me up!" Lucy said with an accusing tone. "I just couldn't, you looked so peaceful!" Levy said with an affectionate laugh. Shaking her head with amusement Lucy laughed. "Fine I forgive you for abandoning me. What have I missed?" "Not much, we are waiting for all the contestants to come. " Glad that she wasn't the last one Lucy sighed with relief. Noticing that it was very quiet Lucy turned to look for the men. "Hey where are all the guys?" "Who knows." Erza said with boredom. "They probably are out causing trouble as usual. I swear if they ruin my dream of winning the Miss Fiora pageant they will be sorry!" She said with deadly seriousness. Levy and Lucy looked at her with fear. "Wow! don't you think you are taking this a little too seriously? " Levy asked. Her facing darkening. "Never, this has been an important dream of mine for awhile. I always give my best effort in everything!" Erza said with triumph. Shaking her head. "Ok….she has officially lost her mind." Lucy said.

As the friends argued a small man wearing a bright pink coat and mint green skinny jeans enters the room. The man has a glistening bald head and a fabulous ginger beard. As he approaches Lucy noticed the man literally sparkles. The man quickly crosses the lobby and moves towards the stage. As soon as he climbed the stage he began to speak. "Alright ladies please quiet down so we can begin. My name is Josh Harris. But you can call me Mr. Harris. I am one of the three judges that will evaluate your performances " As Mr. Harris began explaining the rules Levy learned over and whispered to Lucy. "That man he screams fabulous! How does he do that?" "I don't know." Lucy whispered back as she looked over at Juvia in concern. "Hey Juvia are you feeling ok?" Juvia who is very pale stares at the "fabulous" Mr. Harris. She turned to Lucy when she felt Lucy's hand on her arm. "I must learn." She said in a desperate voice. "Learn what?" Levy asks in concern. "I must learn to be this fabulous! It is the only way to capture my beloved's heart! Juvia cried it desperation. "Well big surprise that she is obsessing over Gray." Lissana said with boredom. "Quiet down Mr. Harris is starting to explain the events." Erza said with great anticipation.

"Now ladies there will be four events." Mr. Harris explained as he stroked his magnificent beard. "The first event will be the formal glitz event. You will be scored on your dress, posture, and elegance. In this event you must find an escort to accompany you. The judges want this event to be as formal as possible. Those without a date will immediately be disqualified from the event." All the girls started squealing with joy at the thought of finding an escort. Juvia beamed with excitement. " My dear darling Gray will absolutely escort me!" Lissana turns to Juvia and says with excitement. "I wonder if Natsu would escort me?"

The chatter continued until Mr. Harris continued with instructions. "The second event will be the swimsuit event. In this event you will be scored on your bathing suit and personality. You must try and sell it! The third event will be the talent event. In this event you can show off your magical abilities. You will be scored on your presentation of your magic. the fourth and final event is the question event. The judges have already picked out the questions you will be asked. Of course you will be judged on your answers to these questions, so be honest! That is all for now ladies, have fun with this and try your best! The first event starts in four hours. So start getting ready, mingle, and find your date!" As "Mr. Fabulous" finished his instructions the room blew up with conversation. Every contestant was desperate to find a date and the perfect dress. As Juvia and Lissana got up to find Gray and Natsu the stage microphone squealed, effectively silencing the room again. "Oh and I forgot to mention." Mr. Harris said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "No male in your guild may escort you. You must find some one from a different guild to accompany you. It will be the perfect way for us to mingle and make new friends! Good luck ladies!" Mr. Harris laughed with amusement as he walked away. The looks on all the girls faces were priceless. "Now who are we going to ask?" Lissana asked in distress. "There is no time to waste!" Erza said with determination. "We must find dates, and prove that Fairy tail is the best!" And with that she stalked off to intimidate a date to escort her.


	6. Chapter 6

"This is awful!" Complained Lucy as she turned to Levy. "Why can't we have men from our own guild escort us?" Levy turned to Lucy as she held up a deep purple dress to her chest. "I know it's really frustrating. I was going to ask Gajeel to escort me. But I guess it is a good way to meet new people." Giving Lucy a knowing smirk, she handed her a bejeweled red dress and asked "I bet you were planning on asking Natsu, weren't you?" Lucy ducked her head and blushed. "The thought had crossed my mind. But I had also considered asking Loke. But he is still technically part of the guild so that won't work either." Both girls sighed as they grabbed their dresses and headed towards the dressing rooms. "Well I guess after this we can work as a team and try and find dates." Levy said with mock enthusiasm. "Sure!" Lucy agreed with relief. The thought of going off on her own to find a date was terrifying, "Did you hear that Juvia already found a date?" Levy asked Lucy, with a touch of disbelief in her voice. "Really? No way. who is it?" Lucy asked Levy in shock. "Well, after the instructions word spread around rather quickly that each contestant needs an escort." Levy explains. "And well, its obvious Leon has a major thing for Juvia, so as soon as he heard he got down on his knees and begged her to allow him to escort her. After Juvia begged Gray to forgive her, she accepted." Lucy laughed "That definitely sounds like Juvia." Levy continued as both girls exited the dressing rooms. "Even more of a shocker Natsu and Gray both have dates!" Lucy stopped adjusting her dress as she turned to her friend in shock. "You have got to be kidding me! Who are they going with?" Laughing at her friends shocked expression Levy began to explain "Natsu was asked by Jenny Realight of Blue Pegasus. He agreed because she told him free food was involved." Lucy rolled her eyes because she could totally see Natsu agreeing just for the food. Levy continued "Gray was asked by Kagura Mikazuchi of Mermaid Heel. I think he just agreed so he couldn't be outdone by Natsu." Lucy shook her head in amusement as she said "They forever will be trying to outdo each other!"

Just as Lucy and Levy left the store with their new dresses Erza and Mira walked up to them. "I hope you don't mind but I already took the liberty to find you two dates." Erza said, obviously proud of herself. Levy and Lucy gasped completely shocked as Erza continued. "Lucy allow me to introduce you to Thorne Devain. He has kindly offered to be your escort for this evening." Lucy was shocked to see Erza and Mira with Mr, Creepy. As she looked over Mira's shoulder she was appalled to see Mr. Creepy's brothers there too . Oblivious to Lucy's discomfort Erza continued. "This is Maggart Devain, one of Thorne's brother, he is escorting me. Their youngest brother Virion is escorting Mira. Quite a stroke of luck that we found them." Thorne looked over at Lucy, amusement coloring his face at Lucy's obvious distaste. Lucy grabbed Erza's arm and pulled her away from the group. "Excuse us a minute boys I need to have a quick word with my friend here." Lucy said as Erza looked at her with confusion. "Erza I don't trust them, they give me a weird vibe." Lucy said as Erza looked at her with a bit of amusement. "Lucy there is no need to worry. You don't need to like them, its only for one night. Plus we should be grateful they are doing us a favor. Without them we will be disqualified for the first round." Erza said to Lucy trying to get her to understand the importance of accepting the Devian brothers help. Lucy looked warily over at the brothers as they talked to Mira and Levy. She looked back at Erza who was looked pleadingly at Lucy. "Fine I will do it, but I still don't trust them." Lucy said to Ezra as they slowly walked back to the group. "Great! I knew I could count on you!" Erza said enthusiastically as she gave Lucy a big hug crushing her against her armor. "Hey Erza I am happy you found Lucy a date, but who did you find me?" Levy questioned curiously. Erza laughed and pointed at a blond man walking towards them. "Don't worry Levy I didn't forget about you. You remember Hibiki, right?" Erza said with a laugh. Levy looked over at Hibiki as he walked over and took her hand. "Hey Levy, you don't mind me escorting you do you? I would be happy to help, if you will let me." Hibiki said to Levy earnestly. Levy threw her arms around him in a thankful hug. "Of course Hibiki, thank you so much." Thorne walked slyly over to Lucy and took her hand. "So mind showing me your dress, cutie? I want to make sure your dress won't clash with my face." Thorne said as he open the bag Lucy's dress was in. As he pulled her red dress out Thorne gave it a small look of disappointment. "I was hoping for a green dress, but I can work with red. I just prefer green because it reminds me of my gorgeous eyes. Red reminds me too much of fire. But I can work with this just for you babe." Lucy yanked her dress back wishing Natsu was there too punch this creep right in the face. "Lets get one thing straight here Thorne, I appreciate the help, but I'm not your babe. So lets tone done the creepy level, ok? Now if you'll excuse me I need to get ready, I will see you in two hours for rehearsal." Lucy said with disgust as she started to walk away. _I have to do this for my guild. If I am disqualified I will let them down. I can put up with this creep for one day. _"I will count the minutes until you return gorgeous." Thorne said with excitement.


	7. Chapter 7

Thorne smugly watched as the Fairy tail mage walked away. The plan was going better than expected. He was rather amused that that silly little judge was so easily swayed to change the rules for the formal event. Normally contestants could be escorted by men from their own guilds. Thanks to the Devain brothers that was changed now. Now they were perfectly positioned in the lives of their targets. Thorne laughed as he started walking back toward his brothers. Lucy thought this was her only night to deal with him. Little did she know this was only the beginning. For the rest of the contest she would have to be partnered with him in some way or another. Which was perfectly fine with him, her beauty really complimented his own. Thorne reached his brothers just as soon as they said goodbye to their other objectives. The only kink in the plan was that little blue haired mage. She was crucial to the plan, but now she was being escorted by that Hibiki tool. It might prove difficult to separate her from that fool. But it would have to be done. Failure was not an option. "That worked very nicely wouldn't you say Virion?" Thorne asked his brother as he ran a hand through his hair. Virion looked at his brother with a bit of boredom in his eyes. "Don't look so confident, Thorne. This is the easy part. The hard part is yet to come." Thorne rolled his eyes at his brothers comment. "Well I for one thought it went spectacularly! Lucy was totally falling for me. Which is no surprise with this beauty!" Thorne said dramatically framing his face. Maggart rolled his eyes at his brother, but his thoughts were still on the red haired mage. Maggart couldn't help but smile a little, he liked the determined fire in her eyes. "Erza…" he said softly, not paying attention to Thorne anymore. He chuckled a little, it was so hard to find a strong and courageous woman anymore, most expected a knight in shining armor to whisk them away, but Erza wasn't like that….she IS the knight in shining armor, literally. He couldn't help but imagine how it would be to try and tame the wild Queen of the Fairies.

Virion noticed his brother spacing out and frowned a little. "Hmm, something must be troubling him, don't you think, Thorne?" he asked his oldest brother. Thorne looked over at his brother with confusion. Was his brother literally smitten by Titania. It definitely should be the other way around. He walked over to his brother with concern "Maggart! Pull yourself together! Women love and stalk us! Not the other way around! I know you can never be as handsome as me, but you're no slacker. Look at my face, let my beauty clear your mind!" Thorne began to shake his brother until Maggart slapped him across the face. "Quit shaking me you idiot! I'm perfectly fine. Now if we are done being stupid lets get moving. We have a pageant to get ready for!" Maggart stomped off as Thorne rubbed his sore cheek. "I knew it would work! Did you see that Virion? My face gave Maggart new life! It gave him purpose! My face is awesome!" Thorne began to weep with joy as Virion fought the urge to punch his brother in his precious face. "Come on you superb idiot, Maggart is right we have pageant to get ready for." And with that Virion began to pull Thorne back towards the hotel.

Lucy was still fuming as she finished fixing Levy's hair. She couldn't believe she was stuck with Mr. Creepy as a date. She was happy Levy had a normal date, but she really wish she could have Hibiki as her date, but she would never tell Levy that, she wouldn't want Levy to feel guilty. "There all done, you look perfect now!" Lucy said to Levy as her friend got up and turned to face the mirror. Levy was dressed in halter dress that was the color of iron. The dress had intricate delicate green designs on it. The dress clung to her curves and made her look very elegant. "Oh Lucy thank you, you did a wonderful job. I love it!" Levy said as she twirled in a circle. "Now sit down I have to do your hair." Levy said as she pushed Lucy down into the chair she just vacated. Levy began to twist and pile Lucy's long blonde hair on top of her head. Once Levy finished Lucy turned towards the mirror to see the final result. Lucy was dressed in a sleeveless red dress. The dress had interact orange designs on it. Her hair was piled on top of her head in an elegant braided bun. "Oh you are so pretty Lucy! Your dress looks almost like fire. I have never seen anything like it." Levy gushed as she walked around Lucy. Lucy blushed as she turned towards Levy. "Thanks Levy but you are just as beautiful as me! Now lets go find the others." And with that Lucy grabbed Levy's hand and they went to go find their friends.

As Lucy and Levy entered the hotel lobby Mira caught Levy's eye as she waved them over. "Oh thank goodness." Levy breathed "We have been looking for you guys forever!" Levy gushed as she gave Mira a hug. Levy gasped as she took a step back and looked at her friends dress. "Oh my God Mira your dress is absolutely gorgeous!" "Oh thank you Levy!" Mira said as she twirled in her sleeveless yellow dress. The dress was the color of the sun and lightning. Her hair was in a simple braid with gold chains elegantly woven in. As Levy and Mira talked excitedly Erza walked over. The red haired mage was dressed in an elegant deep purple halter dress. Her hair was in a half bun, as the rest of her hair fell gracefully down her back. "Well ladies, you sure know how to clean up well." Erza said as she looked at her friends with approval. "Now all we need are our escorts." she said with a little impatience. Lucy ignores her and began to look around the room for her guy friends. Failing to find either Natsu or Gray, Lucy headed towards the snack table. "Nice dress, kinda reminds me of fire." a familiar voice said behind her. Smiling Lucy turned around to see Natsu and Happy eating happily at the snack table. _Of course I should have known this is where they would be._ "Thank you Natsu, you look very dashing as well." Natsu was dressed in a white tux and white dress shoes. Of course he was still wearing his scarf. "Ah this is nothing but a monkey suit. I can't wait until this is over so I can take it off!" Natsu said as he blushed at her compliment. Lucy laughed at his discomfort and looked around for Gray and the others. "Where are the rest of the guys?" she asked Natsu. "Oh they are over by the stage." he said with little interest. And with that Lucy felt a thick hand slip itself around her waist. At the feel of Thorne's hand on her, Lucy shivered in disgust. "Hey gorgeous you are even hotter now than you were before." Thorne whispered into Lucy's ear. Natsu noticed Lucy's discomfort and narrowed his eyes on Thorne's hand on her waist. "Hey buddy, why don't you take your hand off Lucy!" Natsu said as he felt his blood heat up. Thorne laughed as he pulled Lucy closer to his chest. "Now lets not get testy." Thorne said in a taunting tone "I am Lucy's escort after all." Natsu gave Lucy a look of complete shock, a little jealousy coloring his tone. "You asked this loser to be your escort?" Lucy looked at Natsu with confusion and a little panic. "Well, not exactly….Erza found him for me... It wasn't by choice, but I couldn't be disqualified! Please Natsu you have to believe me!" Natsu looked at Thorne with absolute distaste "Lets get one thing straight buddy you keep your hands off Lucy! And I will be watching!" Thorne took a menacing step towards Natsu as Lucy rushed forward to stop Natsu from punching Thorne. "Do we have a problem here?" asked Gray as Laxus, Mira, Erza, and Gajeel walked up. "No not at all." said Virion as he wrapped his arm around Mira, who cringed. Seeing Mira's discomfort Laxus took a step forward as the air crackled with electricity. "Now, now lets not create a scene." Maggart said as he walked behind Erza and puts his hands on her shoulders. A familiar figure moved forward at the sight of Maggart's hands on Erza, At the movement Erza glanced at the figure. Shocked she breaks away from Maggart and moves towards the familiar figure. As Erza disappears through the crowd Natsu turns to the Devain brothers with a warning tone "Just remember, we will be watching you!" And with that he gave Lucy's hand a protective squeeze and headed back towards his escort looking back over his shoulder all the while.

Erza followed the strange man through the crowds until she finally cornered him in a separate room. "What are you doing here?" she hissed. The man turned around and lowered his hood. "Damn it Erza you weren't suppose to see me." the man said in exasperation. Erza laughed and shook her head "Come on Jellal when was the last time you ever snuck past me?" Jellal laughed and rolled his eyes "I suppose thats true. But you still can't tell anyone I am here." Erza looked at him in surprise and confusion "Why ARE you here Jellal? And tell me the truth I will know if you're lying." Sighing Jellal rubbed his eyes "Fine I am here on a secret mission gave to me by the magic council." Erza looked at him in surprise "A mission? What kind of mission?" Jellal held up his hands and said "Sorry, I can't tell you that. Thats why its a secret." Erza looked at him in exasperation "Fine keep your secrets! But if you need help you know where I am." Laughing slightly Jellal took her hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze "Thanks I will definitely keep that in mind," Erza smiled at him then turned swiftly around and made her way back towards Lucy and the Devain brothers. As Erza moved away Jellal frowned as he put his hood back up. He did not like the feeling of the Devain brothers and he was for certain keeping an eye on them.


	8. Chapter 8

All of the girls were dressed for the first event, the Glitzy Escort event. All of the judges were seated in front of the stage, smiling. The first one was the first winner of the Miss Fiora contest, a woman who was well in her sixties, but it was hard to tell. She had silver hair and bronze eyes. She was dressed very elegantly in a white dress that clung to her body, which was still in nice shape. Her name was Gracey Breeze. Next to her sat an older gentleman, the founder of the pageant, . He was a wealthy and kind man who loved to look at anything beautiful. He was also dressed rather glitzy, but not NEARLY as fabulous as , who appeared, slowly being brought up through a hole on the stage. He wore a bright white suit that had golden stars all over it that shimmered and slowly spun when he moved. He also had a white top-hat that had a mint green rim that glittered when he ran his fingers over the rim of it, which had gloves on that were mint green as well. His tie was pink and he wore yellow star sunglasses. He spun his white can around, which also doubled as his microphone.

stood on a small platform that was holding him high in the air in front of the large crowd. Large screen-like mirrors were in the sky, showing a close up of him and the other judges. "Attention! We are ready to start the first event of the day! The Glitz Escort event!" he said, everyone cheering loudly. The area dimmed, and a spotlight was put on him, making his glorious beard glitter magnificently in the spotlight. "The rules for this event are simple! Every lady in the competition had to find an escort in four hours, and will be walked through the stage, pose, and be escorted off! The better their grace, beauty and glitz, the higher number of points they win! You will also be scored on how you interact with your partner, so make sure you sell it! Now, lets get started!" he said, the spotlight now going onto the stage.

The crowd cheered loudly as all of the attention was directed to the stage. quickly took his seat next to the other two judges, smiling eagerly to see all of the beautiful people.

The first couple to come out was one of the top contestants from last years event, Jane Lace escorted by Elfman. Gajeel, Laxus and many of the other men of Fairy Tail starred. "He got a date? And with that hot of a chick?!" Wakaba said in shock. Makarov nodded, obviously a little drunk. "Whoo! You go and get 'er Elfman!" he said, slurring his words a little. "Yeah, Looking good Elfman!" Loke cheered. "When did you get here Loke?" Wakaba asked pleasantly surprised. "Just a little bit ago. I couldn't miss out on all the fun." Loke said very excitedly as he continued to cheer. "Come on Fairy tail lets win this thing!"

The girls were backstage, waiting for their turn and watching each couple head out. The excitement in the air crackled like electricity. Girls were fussing with their hair and dresses while men fussed with their ties and hair. All the female Fairy tail contestants were towards the back of the line. Mira and Virion were set to go out first. They were to be followed by Levy and Hibiki, then Lucy and Thorne, Erza and Maggart, Wendy and Marcus, Lissana and Ichya, and so on. Lucy was dreading her turn. Thorne kept moving uncomfortably close to her. She could feel Natsu watching them and felt a little comfort in that fact. To keep her mind off the fact that Throne had now wrapped his arm around her shoulders, Lucy began to fiddle with her dress.

Romeo couldn't believe he got himself into this situation. Why did he ever think this was a good idea? Since he was technically a stand alone contestant he had asked Droy to escort him. Droy obviously didn't know who he was really escorting. He thought he was escorting the adorable little Ramona. Romeo looked uncomfortably down at the orange dress he had chosen "Man I hope no one at the guild finds out about this! If they do I will never live this down." Romeo mumbled in distress as he and Droy moved up in line. Oh man, it was his turn already. Romeo took a deep breath and grabbed onto Droy's arm. He tried his best to smile as he walked out on stage.

Back out on stage the crowd began to cheer enthusiastically as Natsu escorted Jenny Realight on stage. As the announcer introduced them the members of Fairy tail whooped and congratulated Natsu. "Way to go Natsu! You done good!" Wakaba cheered. "You look like a monkey, firebreath!" Gajeel jeered at Natsu's obvious discomfort. Jenny pulled Natsu off the stage as Gray and Kagura Mikazuchi walked on.

The shouts from the Fairy tail spectators could be heard backstage. "Awesome job Gray! You know how to attract the ladies! Hey you even kept all your clothes on!" Erza shook her head at the comments her rowdy guild were making. As she moved forward in line Erza caught the sound of Juvia crying. "Why?! Why must my beloved Gray betray me?! We are water and ice, its just meant to be!" Juvia cried as she melted to her knees while Leon tried his best to console her. "No! I won't give up! I will destroy her as I will every other rival! Not Lucy, Kagura, or any other woman will stand in my way! Gray will be mine!" Juvia said with fierce determination as she picked herself back up. "How many times do I have to tell you I am not your rival!" Lucy said to Juvia as she smacked her hand to her forehead. _When will she get it through her head that Gray and I are just good friends?_ Sighing Lucy moved up the line as she watched Mira and Virion move out onstage.

Laxus clenched his fists as Mira moved gracefully on stage. She was absolutely stunning, as he knew she would be. Her dress, the color of lightning, made her blue eyes sparkle like sapphires. His gut clenched in anger as he saw Virion Devain clutch Mira closer to his side as they moved on stage. God Laxus wanted to punch that smirk right off that tools face. He was glad Mira had found a date and had not disqualified. He just wished he could have been her escort, and not this fool. There was something about this jerk that made him uncomfortable. Still fuming over Mira's predicament, Laxus watched as Mira and Virion dismounted the stage.

Gajeel looked over at Laxus with a bit of concern. The lightning dragon slayer seemed rather tense and agitated. Could it be that Laxus was actually jealous of Mira being escorted by another man. Not that it concerned him really, he really couldn't care about Laxus's jealousy. "Look, here comes Levy!" Lily said to Gajeel pointing towards the stage. Gajeel looked up at the stage just as Levy and Hibiki walked out. His breath rushed out, as if he had been punched in the gut. Levy was simply stunning, her iron colored dress looked as if it had been made just for her. As Levy and Hibiki walked across the stage, Levy happened to catch Gajeels eye. _He is actually here!_ Levy thought excitedly as she gave him a shy wink. Gajeel blushed but could not look away. _Now I can sympathize with the lightning dragon slayer. _"Ah this is nothing but a joke!" Gajeel said to Lily as he tried to regain his uninterested diminear. "Oh yes its totally pointless." Lily slyly agreed as Levy and Hibiki left the stage. Gajeel's interest in Levy did not go unnoticed by him.

Oh God it was finally her turn. Lucy couldn't wait to get this over with. Thorne was driving her crazy! "Ready sweet cheeks? We have to make a good impression on the judges, which shouldn't be too hard with this face!" Thorne said with a condescending tone as he grabbed Lucy's arm and began moving towards the stage. Lucy took a deep breath and tried to ignore the urge to pull away. Sadly Thorne was right. If she wanted to have a shot at winning she had to at least pretend she liked this creep. Putting on her best face she grabbed his arm and held on tight. Thinking she finally accepted her feelings for him, Thorne clutched Lucy closer. "See sweetheart, this isn't so bad!" He said with affection in his tone. "Just shut up and get moving!" Lucy said with agitation as they finally walked on stage.


	9. Chapter 9

Natsu fidgeted in his tux. This stupid monkey suit was REALLY starting to make him itch. Just as he was about to ask Happy to scratch his back, he heard the announcer introduce Lucy. As he looked over at Lucy he forgot his itching, the monkey suit, everything. _Wow, she really was quite beautiful. _He really wouldn't have minded if she would have asked him to be her escort. He knew Lissana would have asked him, but it wouldn't have been the same. He loved Lissana, but only as a friend. The person he was really interested in was Lucy. Knowing the woman he has feelings for was being escorted by a total jerk was really getting under his skin. As Natsu watched Lucy and Jerkwad move across the stage, his anger boiled. But what finally made him crack was when Thorne leaned down and gave Lucy a kiss right on her lips. Natsu made a move to jump forward and teach Jerkwad a lesson when he was slammed down by a giant fist. "Don't ruin this for us, Natsu! We can't afford to be disqualified just because you dislike her date." Makarov said as he slowly withdrew his hand. Natsu growled, he was for sure going to make Thorne pay!

Jellal watched Natsu's reaction to Lucy being kissed with curiosity. Did the fire dragon slayer actually have an interest in the celestial wizard? Come to think of it it actually wouldn't be that big of a surprise, they were always together. Just as he was about to leave the room Jellal caught a glimpse of the next contestant. It was Erza Scarlet. Jellal put a hand to his chest as his heart stuttered. He saw her before the actual show, but the way the light hit her, she looked gorgeous. He had tried to deny his feelings for her. But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't forget her, and seeing her with this Maggart fellow really irritated him. "I hope you win Erza" he said as pulled his hood farther down. " because you are certainly the most beautiful contestant to me." And with that last remark Jellal shrank back into the shadows and disappeared.

The last contestants finally finished their walk through, and the judges began to deliberate. Lucy finally was able to break free from Thorne's cage-like grasp. She just needed to get away from him. She was still superbly pissed about their onstage kiss. That creep stole her first kiss. His lips had been very cold and hard. Its not that he hadn't been a good kisser, its just she had felt like she was being tossed into a dark hole. The whole thing had just felt wrong. She felt that she had lost a part of herself to him. Something she couldn't get back. As Lucy continued walking lost in thought, she bumped into a hard muscular chest. "I am so sorry….Oh Natsu, its you! Man am I glad I found you!" Lucy said as she gave Natsu a tight hug. Returning her hug Natsu looked her over carefully as if he expected to find an injury on her. "Did that jerk hurt you Lucy?" Natsu asked her as he slowly pulled back from the hug. Lucy shivered at the menacing tone in his voice. "No, he just mostly pissed me off. It was kind of embarrassing too." Lucy said as she ducked her head.

Natsu opened his mouth to reply just as Mr. Harris took the stage. As Mr, Harris walked to center stage his cane gave of gold sparkles. As he faced the crowd he lowered his star shaped sunglasses and stroked his magnificent beard."That was an incredible round! Bravo to all contestants. But as we all know there can only be one winner for this round. We will name off the top 5 contestants, the rest of the scores will be posted on the result wall so you can see your scores. Now lets begin!" Mr. Harris said with an excited giggle as he opened up the envelope that contained the results. "First place goes to Miss. Lucy Heartfilia from the Fairy tail guild along with her escort Mr. Thorne Devain. Miss. Heartfilia and her partner were given a perfect score of 20. Lucy's dress showed off her beautiful grace and elegance. But what really sold it was the heart stopping kiss that Miss. Heartfilia shared with Mr. Devain! Excellent job!" Lucy felt numb as she moved to take her place with Thorne on the stage. The smile on her face felt fake and strained. She had the resist the urge to slap Thorne as he grabbed her hand when they reached center stage.

Oblivious to it all Mr. Harris continued happily "Second place goes to Mira Strauss and Virion Devain! Third place goes to Erza Scarlet and Maggart Devain! Fourth place to Levy McGarden and Hibiki Lates! And fifth place goes to Jenny Realight and Natsu Dragneel! Oh would you look at that! Almost a clean sweep by the Fairy tail guild. Guess we know who is going to be the main target now! Oh and before I forget to add, the judges and I have decided since the escort event went so swimmingly, you must keep your current partner for all the events to follow! Isn't that exciting?! Yes, so exciting!" Mr. Harris continued to gush as all the contestants looked at each other in shock. Lucy couldn't believe it. This couldn't be happening! Three more whole days with Thorne. Lucy groaned with distress as finished his speech. "Come on lets give them a nice round of applause people!"

As the contestants and observers gave the winners a large round of applause the Devain brothers took their opportunity to turn towards their shocked partners and press a soft kiss to their lips. All girls experienced the same reaction at the same time. As the brothers kissed them each girl felt as if they were being sucked into a black hole. They felt cold and almost dead inside. It was as if their very existence was being ripped apart and was being rebuilt into an entirely different version of themselves. A self darker, more powerful, and completely terrifying, but yet, oh so tempting. As the brothers kissed them the girls could feel a small burning sensation behind their right ear. As soon as they felt the burn it disappeared, and even the knowledge of the event disappeared with it. As they continued to kiss each girl wanted to wrench themselves away from the brothers. but yet they wanted to press themselves closer too.

And just like that the brothers pulled back from the women with a knowing smile. Virion stroked Mira's cheek as he said "That was fun! I can't wait to continue working with you!" Mira looked at Virion with confusion. _What happened? It's all a blur. I feel so strange. _Mira looked at Erza and Lucy they all wore the same look of confusion and disorientation. Around them the crowd screamed in excitement. "Oh would you look at that! Looks like the bud of romance is about to bloom, right before our eyes!" Mr. Harris said excitedly as he waved his fabulous hat in front of his face. Natsu, Jellal, and Laxus stared at the girls in shock. Why didn't Erza and Mira punch those tools? Why did Lucy just allow that creep to kiss her? Something was not right with any of this.

As the winners began to dismount the stage Erza had the powerful urge to grab onto Maggart's hand. As if sensing her thoughts Maggart grabbed her hand. Instead of it being its normal cold temperature, the hand felt like it was warm, almost on fire even. Maggart smiled, kissing Erza's hand, like a gentleman. "I will enjoy working with you in the future, Miss Erza." he said, winking. He knew how to flirt, and not smother like how his brother does.

Lucy kept staring at Thorne. _My heart it keeps pounding. Was he always this handsome? Why did I never notice it before?_ Thorne slipped his arm around her waist as they walked off stage. Instead it felt right that he held on to her. It was as if he had been made to hold on to her and protect her. Wait, no this wasn't right. She hated him just two minutes ago. But as she tried to remember why she disliked Thorne, she felt that delicious warmth behind her right ear, and her worries were forgotten.


	10. Chapter 10

"Thorne turned towards Lucy his face a look of triumph. "Hey doll, its been real fun but its time for us to get our beauty sleep. Wouldn't want to let our fans down by having wrinkles tomorrow." Thorne said as he brushed a lock of Lucy's hair out of her face. Lucy giggled as she gave him a hug. "See you tomorrow Thorne! I miss you already!" Thorne looked over at his brothers"That's what they all say babe!" Thorne said as he rushed to catch up with his brothers. Virion watched as the girls headed back to their rooms. Natsu and the rest of the Fairy tail boys headed after them. He was searching for a certain water mage, she was crucial to their plan. Virion turned towards Maggart and gave him the signal, And with that Maggart gave a curt nod and disappeared into the shadows.

"There she is!" Thorne said as he pointed at Juvia. "Well bring her over here!" Virion said as he pushed Thorne towards her. "You know what to tell her." Thorne growled but did as he told. As he walked over to the water mage, Maggart returned but in the form of Juvia's beloved Gray. "You better hope this works." Maggart growled at Virion. "I just got to second base with Erza, I don't feel comfortable cheating on her." Virion rolled his eyes at his brothers ridiculous logic. "Its not cheating if its for Erza's own protection. Think of it as your doing her a favor!" Maggart's eyes lit up "Yes you're right, she will be grateful to me!"

Thorne walked over with a blushing Juvia. "Here she is Gray just as promised." Thorne winked at Maggart "Yes thank you Thorne for helping out. Ugh can I have a minute alone with my darling Juvia?" Virion and Thorne nodded as Juvia squealed in glee. "Oh Gray I have been dreaming of this moment forever! I don't know if I'm ready!" Maggart stepped forward and put his index finger on her lips. "Sh...Juvia its fine. We both are ready for this." And with that Maggart leaned forward and kissed Juvia right on the lips. As he pulled away Juvia stood there as if in a trance. "Now Juvia" Maggart said as he shifted back into his normal form. "Your job is to keep the men of Fairy tail away from Erza, Lucy, Levy, and Mira. Keep them safe and protect them with your life." Juvia looked at him with complete obedience. "Of course Lord Maggart, it shall be done!" And with that Juvia headed towards the girls room, the magic seal hid carefully behind her right ear.

"Hey Lucy will ya wait up?" Natsu asked a little annoyed "I just want to talk!" Natsu said as he grabbed Lucy's arm and pulled her to a stop. "I can't talk I have to get to bed!" Lucy said a little out of breath. "Thorne said I have to get to bed so my face doesn't wrinkle. I can't let my face wrinkle, he would be so mad if my face wrinkled!" Lucy cried as she teared up a little. Natsu looked at her with concern and confusion. "Wait, what are you talking about Lucy? Your face is perfectly fine. Why are you letting this punk get to you?" Lucy stared at Natsu in total horror. "How dare you call Thorne a punk! He is the most kind and caring person on this planet! Don't you dare insult him!" Lucy yelled in Natsu's face, as he held up his hands in surrender. "Lucy this isn't like you? What happened? What did he do to you?" Natsu asked Lucy desperately. "I think that is enough questions for tonight." Juvia said as she walked up behind Natsu. "It has obviously been a stressful night for Lucy. It is now time for her to go to bed." And with that she grabbed Lucy's hand and took her to her room, leaving Natsu standing in the hallway alone and confused.

"What the hell was that about?" Laxus asked Natsu. "I have no fucking idea!" Natsu said angrily. "One minute she hates the fucking guy and now she is defending him." Laxus gave Natsu a look of complete disbelief "No way! Mira did the same thing when I tried to talk to her. And Erza isn't acting like herself! What the hell is going on here?" Natsu looked down the hallway that Lucy just disappeared down. "I bet it has something to do with those Devain brothers. I think we need to keep a closer eye on them." Laxus shook his head in agreement. "I think that is the first thing we have agreed on in a long time pyro."

"Thanks for stepping in Juvia!" Lucy said as Juvia pulled her towards her room. "No problem mistress Lucy, its my job to protect you and the other mistresses." Normally that would have creeped Lucy out but right now that made total sense to her. Juvia continued "You need to stay away from Natsu, he is not good for you. He will corrupt you and try and steal you away from master Thorne. That is why master Thorne has asked me to keep him away from you. So that's what I will do." Lucy nodded in agreement "You're right Juvia." They reached Lucy's door and stopped in front of it "Don't worry mistress I will be here to keep him away from you, he will never bother you or the other mistresses again." Lucy reached out and gave Juvia a thankful hug "Thanks Juvia I really appreciate it!" Lucy ended the hug and headed into her room.


	11. Chapter 11

All of the girls were in their rooms, getting ready for the swimsuit competition. Lucy had been thinking about Thorne all day long. She decided to get a green two piece, since Thorne had said that he liked the color green. The swimsuit was a grass green with a lighter green trim on it that was frilly, the straps were frilly as well. She had Cancer do her hair this time, having him put it up in cute pigtails with bangs. She made sure to shave her legs, didn't want to scare the judges by having legs scarier than a Vulcan.

Levy hummed, giggling as she also let Cancer do her hair. He trimmed it a little, but she still wore her headband. She decided to wear an orange one piece, sense she was uncomfortable with her petite body. It also had a yellow trim on it that was plain and simple, so she looked cute in it, since orange was her color after all.

Levy watched as Lucy spaced off, thinking about Thorne. "Ah...Lucy, are you okay?" she asked softly. Lucy smiled up at Levy. "Isn't he beautiful? Thorne...my Thorne…" she sighed romantically as she laid down on her bed, they had over an hour until the competition. Levy watched her fawn over her partner, making her frown. "Lucy, you've only known the guy for about a day, get ahold of yourself! Besides I thought you couldn't stand the guy." she said, walking over to her friend. Lucy instantly sat up, a serious look on her face. "That's right...it must be...Love at first sight!" she said, squealing in delight.

Levy frowned, shaking her head. She would have to talk to Mira and Erza later once they were at the competition.

After getting Lucy to calm down, they walked down to the contest hall where all of the girls were chattering. Erza decided to wear a black swimsuit that was a one piece. It wrapped around her bottom, and had a V go up and tie around her chest, covering her front, barely. She had her hair up in a high ponytail, she looked rather sexy. Mira was used to wearing swimsuits, so this was going to be easy for her. She wore a white swimsuit that had a black trim on it, it was a bikini. She had her hair in a braided bun that was loose, making her look playful.

The girls stood around, giving each other complements, waiting for their partners as they got in line. Thorne was quickly by Lucy's side, giving her a rose to put in her hair. "Why hello there, I'm so glad to see my beautiful Lucy dressed just as beautifully as me!" Lucy smiled lovingly at him, "I'm so glad you like it! I was wondering if I was going to be able to please you this time or not!" she said, hugging his arm. From a distance, Thorne wore a green swimsuit trunks,since that was his color after all. Natsu was watching with a jealous and confused look on his face. "Why the hell is she being so lovey-dovey with that creep?" he said, growling a little.

Virion smiled as he went up to Mira, looking her up and down approvingly. "You look amazing!" he said, glad to have such a beautiful woman by his side. She giggled, smiling. "Thank you Virion!" she said, glad that he was happy with her.

Maggart was blushing faintly as he walked over to Erza, he wasn't expecting her to be dressed so sexily. "E-Erza...Y-you look lovely!" he said, smiling bashfully up at her. Erza couldn't help but smirk a little as she posed for him. "Oh, you like it? I'm glad. I was wondering if you would approve of it or not." she said, hooking arms with him. "Are you ready?" she asked him. "Y-Yeah!" he said his voice cracking a little. "Good! Cause we have to make a good impression on the judges." Erza said quietly, running her hands through Maggarts curly black hair.

"Hey, get a room!" Wendy's date, Marcus, called over to them. "Be nice." Wendy said as she walked up behind him. "I think its nice Erza finally found herself a boyfriend." Erza looked over at Wendy in confusion. "Huh, I guess I did find a boyfriend!" She said to Maggart as she gave him a hug. With his chest nearly exploding with joy Maggart happily returned her hug.

In the corner of the room stood Jellal leaning on the wall, with his arms folded across his chest. He stared at Erza and Maggart with concern. Something was very wrong. Erza never took to anyone this easy. Their shared past made sure of that. So Erza acting like this had him VERY concerned. Taking his eyes off Erza he looked over at Mira and Lucy. Scowling, Jellal noticed the same strange behavior. Pushing himself off the wall Jellal moved closer to get a better look. Both Mira and Lucy were completely all over their escorts. They looked at them as if they were the very air they breathed. This added to Jellal's confusion. It was obvious to everyone that Lucy and Natsu had a thing for each other. So why was Lucy completely absorbed with Thorne? And Jellal had noticed the secret looks Laxus and Mira had been giving each other. Shaking his head in painful confusion Jellal headed back towards the wall. Something dark was at play here, and he had a feeling he was going to need some serious help to uncover what it was.

As Jellal headed back to the wall he felt a thick hand clamp down on his shoulder. Jellal tensed up expecting to be thrown into the wall. "Hey I remember you! You're that Jellal guy, right? Nevermind don't answer that. I never forget a scent, you're definitely Jellal." Instantly recognizing the voice as the iron dragon slayer, Gajeel, Jellal turned around and faced him. Lower his hood Jellal looked Gajeel in the face. "Nice to see you again, Gajeel." Jellal said in an almost taunting voice. "Liar, what are you doing here Jellal?" Gajeel asked in a non amused tone. "Can't a guy just come to a pageant if he wants?" Jellal asked innocently. At Gajeels glare, Jellal sighed and explained. "I was sent here by the magic council. My mission was to try and find some dark wizards and take them into custody. The only problem is the magical council has no idea who these wizards are." Gajeel arched an eyebrow as he looked at Jellal skeptically. "Well shit, you're being serious aren't you?" Jellal nodded hoping to get Gajeel to believe him. "Damn! Can't even go to a fucking beauty pageant without worrying about some evil wack jobs! How serious is this threat? And what is their purpose here?" Jellal sighed in relief. Maybe he could enlist Gajeels help. " The threat is very serious. As to their purpose the magic counsel believes they are here to collect power. But to how they accomplish this, that is still unknown." Gajeel huffed in exasperation. "Not very helpful are they?" Jellal shook his head sadly. "No, not really. Would it be to much to ask for your help?" Gajeel gave Jellal a wicked smile and laughed. "Not at all. I was going to help anyway, this pageant stuff is boring, this gives me something interesting to do!" As Jellal thanked Gajeel a dark laugh rumbled behind them. "Great, I'll help too." Jellal looked over Gajeel's shoulder to see Laxus. "And I have a feeling we both have an idea of where to start our search." Laxus said as both he and Jellal turned to look at the Devain brothers. "That dragon slayer, was my thoughts exactly." Jellal agreed softly.


	12. Chapter 12

The girls all stood, waiting as went on stage to explain the event. He stood at the front of the stage, his cane-microphone in hand. He wore his white top hat and green gloves, but was wearing pink boxer swimsuit. He smiled brightly, adjusting his red heart sunglasses. "Welcome everyone! We are here for the second event-" the stage started to sprinkle water everywhere. "The swimsuit competition!" he said happily, all of the men in the crowds cheering. "It is simple, the ladies will come out in their swimsuits with their partners, show what they would do at the beach, and head off the stage while showing the judges what fun really looks like!" he said, moving to sit by the judges.

Natsu and Jenny were the first ones out. Natsu had his scarf tied around his head and wore red and black boxer swimsuit. His partner, Jenny, wore a red swimsuit and they played in the water, splashing a little. Everyone cheered as they got off of the stage and Kagura and Gray stepped on. Gray had on a pair of dark blue swimsuit trunks which may also have just been his boxers. Kagura had on a very tiny dark blue string bikini. As they got to center stage Gray used his ice-maker magic to create an ice sand castle while Kagura posed in the water. Men whistled appreciatively at Kagura while girls screamed in glee at the shirtless Gray. "Geez the first time Gray actually got cheered on to walk around in just his underwear." Cana said shaking her head. The crowd continued to go nuts as Gray and Kagura walked off stage. Gray and Natsu headed backstage to wish their guild members good luck. "Hey would you look at that" Cana said to Gray with a smirk "you were finally able to use your stripping habit to your advantage." Gray gave her a taunting smile "Now if only they would have a drinking contest, you would be good to go." Cana laughed "Maybe that's what my talent will be, because as you know its a wonderful gift!" As they continued to banter back and forth Natsu moved on to find Lucy.

Levy and Hibiki took the stage in a flash of orange. Levy of course was in her orange one piece, and Hibiki matched her in his orange trunks. Levy used her magic and had sand appear everywhere, in large letters before it collapsed and they made a cute little island, making sand castles and giggling happily before running off stage. Marcus and Wendy followed them onstage. Wendy was in her white two piece bathing suit and Marcus was in his white trunks, they used Wendy's sky magic to create a small breeze and were flying kites in the sky, Marcus's crashed horribly, almost landing on top of Harris, so they obviously lost points. Erza and Maggart were next. Erza and Maggart acted the part of the perfect beach couple. They hugged, kissed and chased each through the water streaming onto the stage. Erza used her requip magic to make a frisbee appear, they threw it back and forth, obviously both of them acting like it is a competition as they threw it back and forth before exiting off stage.

` Mira and Virion were up next. They too played the beach couple well, Mira brought out a beach ball and they both played excellently, cuddling on the remains of the sand left from Levy before exiting the stage. The crowd absolutely loved it. Mira winked at the judges as they stepped off the stage.

Natsu finally spotted Lucy. She looked lovely in her green bikini. He quickly moved in to go talk to her when he was suddenly cut off by Juvia. "Hey what are you doing? Get out of the way, I want to go talk to Lucy!" Natsu said annoyed as he tried to move past Juvia. "I can't allow that" Juvia said in a deadpan voice. "You can't be allowed to distract her right before she goes on stage." Natsu looked at her in total irritation. "Look Juvia, I just want to talk to her, besides this is none of your business. Now move before I make you move!" Natsu said as his blood began to boil. Just as he finally managed to skirt around Juvia, Lucy and Thorne took the stage. And what Natsu saw blew him away. Lucy was all over Thorne! This was so not like her, and besides she had told him that she could not stand this man. Natsu watched in horror as Lucy wrapped her arms around Thorne and hugged him tight. Natsu felt his anger and power rising, he bit his tongue to hold it back. But what broke him was when Thorne leaned down and brushed a gentle kiss on her cheek. Natsu rushed forward prepared to tackle the creep to the ground, just as two strong hands clamped down on his shoulders and pulled him back. "Cool it pyro! Nows not the time to be stupid!" Laxus said as he dragged the fire dragon back, away from the stage. "Let me go! I have to punch that jerks face in!" Laxus continued to drag Natsu to the changing rooms, slamming him against the brick wall. "Listen! If you keep this up, you could be putting the girls in danger! And I won't let you play with Mira's life…." he said, his hands starting to spark a little. Natsu struggled a little bit more before slowly relaxing. "Fine...But I still want to talk to her! I don't know why Juvia isn't letting me!" he said, crossing his arms as Laxus let go of him. "Hey...Gajeel and I are going to be heading out to eat after the competition tonight, I want you to come with us." he said simply, leaving the changing room before Natsu could say no.

Natsu went back to watch Lucy and Thorne, who were almost done with their performance. Lucy and Thorne were running around in the sprinklers that were on stage, playing a game of tag. At the end, Thorne wrapped his arms around Lucy and bent her back, kissing her passionately. Natsu felt his blood starting to boil, so he turned his head and closed his eyes, trying to forget the image he just saw in front of him.

After Lucy and Thorne got off of the stage, Mr. Harris took the spotlight, glittering under the water and sunlight. "What a lovely performance! Everyone was beautiful and had fun!" he said, spinning his cane around. "But we can only have the top five for this competition! So, in fifth place….Levy and Hibiki! In fourth, Mira and Virion. In third, Lucy and Thorne! In second, Natsu and Jenny...and for first place...Erza and Maggart!" he said with excitement as the five couples took the stage, waving to the crowds. laughed as he went over to Erza and Maggart. "I love to see couples having fun and being loving towards one another, but I also love to see couples who like to challenge each other!" he said, the sprinklers shooting off more water. "Now, tomorrow's event is the talent event! Each lady may choose if they want their partners to help them or not! We can't wait to see you all there tomorrow!" he said, the lights going off and everyone got of the stage.


	13. Chapter 13

As the finalists dismounted the stage Maggart's phone began to buzz. Annoyed Maggart flipped it out to see who was trying to contact him. It was his father. Instantly nervous he turned to Erza "Excuse me a minute my dear, but I have to take this." Pouting Erza gave his arm one final squeeze "Please hurry back!" Maggart quickly moved to a quieter part of the room and answered his phone. "Yes father?" he questioned. "Give me the status report." Zadicous said in a no nonsense tone. Maggart cleared his throat nervously and began. "Everything is going as planned. The seals have been placed and are working effectively. Everything is moving right on schedule." Zadicous laughed menacingly "Good very good! Just two more days son, and our plan will be complete. Keep me updated and keep your brothers in check!" And with that he hung up the phone. Maggart let out a shuddering breath and went to collect his brothers. He needed to update them and to do that he needed to peel them away from their newest fan club. Wishing himself luck he went to go find his brothers.

Levy watched as her friends practically bawled as their new "boyfriends" left. What was with those guys? They hardly knew these men and were already following them around like love sick puppy dogs. It was time to finally have a girls heart to heart with her friends. Levy walked over to Mira. Erza, and Lucy "Hey guys can we go back to the room and talk?" Levy asked in her most comforting tone. Mira gave a really pitiful sniff as Lucy and Erza hugged each other in comfort "I guess there's no point in staying here now!" Mira said as she wiped tears from her cheek. Levy helped Erza and Lucy up and they began moving back to her room. Once they got to Levy and Lucy's room, the three love struck girls fell into a pitiful pile on the floor. Levy turned to her three friends with a little disgust. "OK guys spill it! What's going on with you guys? You aren't acting like yourselves!" Mira looked at Levy with confusion and hurt. "Why would you say that Levy? Everything is fine." Erza and Lucy nodded their agreement as Levy sighed. "No you're not fine! You guys barely eat or sleep, all you can talk about is the Devain brothers. That's not normal!" Levy said with disgust, as Erza moved in front of her. "You're not jealous are you?" Erza questioned, a hard glint in her eye. Levy backed away with her hands held up in front of her. "Calm down Erza. Shes not trying to take your man. I think she just feels left out!" Lucy said with a giggle, as she sprawled out on her bed. "She is right though, we have been spending a lot of time with them." Mira said happily, as she looked at Erza. "I'm sorry Levy if we have made you feel left out, but we've just been so happy!" Levy sighed, she knew she wasn't going to get anywhere with them. "Hey I know!" Lucy squealed, scaring her friends "Levy come have dinner with us tomorrow! It will be fun and this way you can get to know the brothers better!" Levy scrunched her face uncertain "I don't know guys….." "Oh please Levy it will be fun!" All three girls begged. Laughing at their pitiful expressions, Levy gave in. "Oh alright, you guys win! I'll go." Lucy, Erza, and Mira gave cries of delight as they ran and talked their friend. "Thank you Levy, you're the best!"

On the first floor of the hotel Natsu followed Gajeel and Laxus down a dark hallway. "I thought you said we were going out to eat." Natsu said irritated, when no one answered him he continued "I hope you guys know where you're going, cause I'll be pissed if we get lost." Rolling their eyes in annoyance, Laxus and Gajeel led Natsu farther down the hallway. "Are you sure it's a good idea to let Salamander in on this?" Gajeel asked Laxus in a bored tone. "He isn't well known for his discrepancy." Natsu growled in anger "Hey metal mouth, I can still hear you, ya know!" Giving an evil laugh "Yeah, I know flames for brains, that was kinda the point!" Growing irritated, Laxus whirled around to face them both. "Enough both of you, we don't have time for this. We need to keep going." Laxus began to head back down the hallway as he answered Gajeel. "This isn't our secret to share, if he wants to tell Natsu that's his choice. Our job is to make sure flame head here doesn't mess things up!"

Turning the corner Laxus stopped, at what looked to be an old abandoned hotel room. Opening the door he ushered the other two men inside. Natsu stepped into the room completely confused. "Man, is this really where we're eating? Because honestly this place sucks!" Both men ignoring him, Gajeel went into another room while Laxus went about lighting candles. Natsu was just about to complain again when he caught a familiar scent. A scent he hoped he wouldn't come across for a very long time. Whipping around he turned to face the unexpected visitor, Jellal. "What the hell are you doing here?!" Natsu demanded as Jellal lowered his hood. "That's why I had Laxus and Gajeel bring you here, so I could explain." Natsu watched suspiciously as Jellal moved to go sit at a table. "Explain what?" Jellal sighed tiredly as he rubbed his eyes. "That's kind of hard considering I don't know the full story either. But what I can tell you is something evil is at work." Natsu gave Jellal a hard look as he moved to sit at the other side of the table. "Just hear him out Natsu." Gajeel said as he took a seat next to Laxus on the dusty couch. Jellal continued "I was sent here on a mission by the magic council. They have been tracking some dark magicians and, for some reason or another, they believe they have tracked them here. They believe that theses particular magicians are here to obtain power." Natsu leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "What kind of power? And how would they obtain this power? I mean for gods sake this is a beauty pageant!"

Jellal shrugged his shoulders "I honestly have no idea Natsu. I have been trying to get the magic council to share this information with me, but they seem to know nothing about these magicians." Natsu sighed in exasperation "Then how do we even know this threat is real, if there isn't even any information to go on?" Jellal looked at Natsu, his eyes full of certainty "I know this threat is real. I may not know what these magicians look like, but I have been tracking them for a long time. I have seen the destruction they leave behind them." Natsu looked over at Laxus and Gajeel who watched him intently. "Alright so these magicians exist, how do we find them?" Natsu asked, his curiosity peaked "Do you even have a general idea of where to start?" Jellal nodded, glad he finally caught his attention. "I believe the best place to start would be with those three brothers." Jellal said as Natsu's eyes narrowed. "You're talking about the Devain brothers, aren't ya?" Natsu asked his suspicion peaking. "Yes. I know you haven't missed the strange events that have happened since they have arrived. Or their keen interest in Lucy, Erza, and Mira." Natsu scowled as he readjusted his scarf "I've noticed. Lucy won't even talk to me. And Erza and Mira walk right by me like I don't even exist. I thought I did something to make them angry." Laxus got up and put his hand on Natsu's shoulder "No kid it's not just you, Mira won't even look at me anymore. Whenever I try and talk to her she gets angry and runs away. And I have never, in my entire life, seen Erza act the way she is acting now."

Realization lit up Natsu's face "So you guys think the Devain brothers are these dark magicians. If thats true what would they want with the girls?" Gajeel looked over at the fire dragon slayer "That, pyro, is what we need to find out." Natsu glared at his irritating friend "Alright, I'm in! I can't wait to kick some ass!"

Laxus had remained mostly silent as they talked, leaning against one of the rotting walls of the old hotel room. "Hey...has anyone thought to warn the other girls, or master Makarov?" he asked, looking at Gajeel and Natsu. Jellal shook his head "We don't know if the other girls are under the same trance that the other girls are under, and we don't want to worry them if they aren't….as for Makarov, it is probably best that we do not inform him." Natsu frowned, crossing arms as he looked at Laxus with irritation. "What, why? Master should know what's going on, especially if it affects our guild!" Gajeel scoffed as he glared at Natsu. "Do we really need the old geezer getting a heart attack? And we don't want to many people to get suspicious…." he said, pulling the hinge off of a door and eating the rusted metal.

Natsu clenched his hand into a fist and punched one of the walls next to him, leaving a hole in the rotting wood. "Dammit! All of the people we would normally rely on….So we have to do this on our own." Laxus nodded. "Calm down, I know doing this on our own is going to be difficult-" Gajeel smirked. "Unless Salamander thinks he isn't strong enough to save the girls." he said, finishing his rusted metal. Gajeel knew exactly how to get on Natsu's bad side. Natsu's eyes widened as his hands started to catch fire. "Not strong enough? I'll be the one that saves all of them! Especially Lucy!" he said boldly.

Jellal finally spoke up, after Natsu's little outbursts. "Good. We will all continue to keep a close eye on the brothers and the girls. We will report here every night in case if anything new has popped up." he said, the others nodded in agreement. Natsu's stomach growled loudly. "Alright...now can we please get something to eat, I'm starving!" he said, acting like he would wither away if he didn't eat soon.

Gajeel rolled his eyes at Natsu's immaturity. "Is food the only thing you can ever think about?" Natsu laughed a little. "Only when I'm hungry!" he said happily. Laxus sighed as he led Gajeel and Natsu out, leaving Jellal, since that was his little hiding place for the time being. He led them to a nice restaurant where he let them have at it before calling it a day.


	14. Chapter 14

The next contest was the talent contest. All of the girls were ready and waiting behind the stage. They had to start earlier than they normally would, mostly because some of the talents would take longer than the others would. Many of the girls were dolled up once again, excited to show the judges what they could do.

Levy told Hibiki that he could try and help her, if he wanted to, but he decided to let her perform on her own. Lucy and Thorne were obviously going to be working together on her talent. Mira and Virion had practiced before going to bed what they were going to do for the competition. Erza was originally going to do her talent on her own, but Maggart insisted that he help her with what she was doing.

Levy and Hibiki were first to take the stage. Levy was dressed in her everyday clothes. She wanted people to see her as she truly was. She used her script magic to create fireworks over the crowd. And while the crowd was distracted by the fireworks, she made flowers fall from the sky. The crowd was in awe by the beauty of her magic, and by the reaction of the crowd, Levy knew she scored high in this contest. Natsu and Jenny were next to perform. Jenny used her take over magic on Natsu. She used his fire to make images in the air. It was brilliantly done but still not as impressive as Levy's performance.

Wendy and Marcus took the stage next. Wendy used her wind magic to create images in the air from the flowers left over from Levy's performance. Marcus used ice magic to create mounds of ice that Wendy later cut up with her magic to make it snow. The crowd loved it. Wendy left, happy knowing that they had done great,

Up next was Lucy and Thorne. Lucy was dressed in a short, tight green dress, Thorne was dressed in black pants and tight green t-shirt. Lucy first summoned Virgo. They did an amazing routine with their whips. The crowd loved it and screamed for more. Second Lucy summoned Gemini. Gemini took the forms of first Natsu, then Gray, Makarov, and Mr. Haris. Thorne used a very strange kind of magic. He was able to summon vines that had thorns on them. To demonstrate how powerful these vines were, Lucy summoned Loke to attack them. Loke attacked them with everything he had, but it was no use, the vines appeared indestructible. Thorne then used these vines to create beautiful images of the sun, cities, and animals in the air. Once the images were created, beautiful roses bloomed on the vines. The crowd went wild at his strange yet beautiful magic. Lucy and Thorne waved to the crowed as they made their exit, while Loke disappeared into the crowd to continue watching the proceedings.

Next up was Mira and Virion. Mira was dressed in a short sexy black dress that had a deep V neckline. Virion was dressed in black pants with a deep purple t-shirt. Their performance started off with Mira changing into her first she-devil take over. Virion then used his strange power to teleport her to another section of the stage. In her second she-devil form, Mira sent a burst of magic at Virion. Virion used his strange magic and summoned a dome of magic that easily deflected Mira's attack. The crowd gasped in awe, like his older brother the audience had never seen magic like the ones they possessed. Transforming back into her normal appearance, Mira and Virion gave a little bow and exited off the stage.

Jellal looked over at Gajeel, Laxus and Natsu in shock. He had never seen magic like this before. He had heard of some magic like this, but it was suppose to be very old and not in practice anymore. What he was seeing too was just a small taste of their power. He was horrified to think of what this magic could do at its full scale. Laxus walked over to him his eyes containing a look of concern. "They definitely have the power to create the kind of mass destruction you described. And we haven't even saw what the last brother can do yet." Jellal rubbed the back of his neck and leaned back against the wall. "I know and thats what concerns me." Laxus looked at him worriedly "Why do you say that Jellal?" Jellal looked out towards the stage as Erza and Maggart walked towards its center. "Because if all three brothers contain massive power like that, each as powerful and just as destructive as the others, we could be fighting a battle that is going to be nearly impossible to win." Laxus scowled at his new comrade "Why, are they really that powerful?" Jellal shook his head "If I am right this kind of magic is an ancient kind of magic. Not a lot is known about it." I just pray I'm wrong."

Erza and Maggart walked to center stage ready to perform. Erza quickly requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor and took to the air. Maggat used his unknown magic to summon, what looked to be Aries. He sent the Aries look alike Aries to attack Erza, barking out orders on how to attack her. Erza quickly countered to attack, sending one of her own towards the look alike.

Backstage the contestants watched on in shock "What?! How can he do that, he doesn't even have a key?" Lucy cried in shock. "It's ok babe" Thorne said in amusement at her shocked expression. "Maggart doesn't need keys because he's not a celestial wizard. Those aren't even real spirits, but they do contain the same powers of the real ones. But if he is ever faced with a real spirit he can bend their will to his command. Isn't that cool?" Lucy looked at the mock fight on stage. "Yeah, very cool." She said quietly as she clutched her keys.

Once the mock fight was over Erza requipped back into her deep blue dress. Maggart sent the fake Aries back to wherever it came from. The crowd cheered and shouted their approval at their performance. Maggart bent done and gave Erza a sweet and tender kiss, before he picked her up and carried her off stage, making the crowd cheer all the more.

Natsu noticed Laxus and Jellal talking in hushed tones in the corner of the room. Curious what they were talking about, he excused himself to Jenny and started over to them. Catching Gajeel's eye he nodded over to their new comrades, Gajeel nodded and went with him. "Hey guys, mind letting us in on what all the whispering is about?" Gajeel said as he finished chewing on what seemed to be the rest of a spoon. "Well its nothing good I'm afraid." Jellal said worriedly "Our lives have potentially just gotten a whole lot harder." Natsu looked over at Jellal "Well can you cut the cryptic crap and explain?" Natsu yelled as he waved his hands in irritation. "Not here, meet me at my room in an hour." Jellal said. Natsu was about to object when Jella turned to him sharply and said. "This is something that can not be discussed here Natsu. Trust me on this, if this is what I think it is..." Jellal sighed "We could be looking at a world of hurt." And with that Jellal spun around and headed out of the room.

"What the ever living hell was that about ?!" Natsu asked completely confused. "That flame for brains is a man concerned for every living human on this planet." Laxus said with a tone of deep seeded fear. Gajeel looked over at Laxus with a questioning look "Is it really that bad? Did he finally figure out what is going on?" Laxus shook his head with sadness "He thinks he has figured out a small portion of it, but not nearly enough. But enough of this for now, come on lets get back over to the stage so we can hear the results." So Natsu, Gajeel, and Laxus all headed back, all deep in thought. But what none of them realized is that they all would be totally unprepared with what was yet to come.

Back on stage Mr. Harris was walking over to take the center stage. In his bejeweled glove he held the results of the competition. "Oh so exciting! It was all so brilliantly exciting!" He said as his eyes sparkled with his excitement. "Everyone did so lovely. Your talents are truly amazing. And bravo to the partners, you all did marvelous too. But on to the results! First place goes to Erza and Maggart, for their stunning magic. They exhibited not only gorgeous magic but also a wonderful battle demonstration. Well done!" Erza threw her arms around Maggart in a celebratory hug. When the hug ended they moved towards the stage to take their places next to Mr, Harris.

When they took their spot Mr. Harris continued "Second place goes to Mira and Virion. Mira's incredible she-devil take over won her this spot. What helped earn her this placing was her partners incredibly unique power of teleportation and shielding abilities. Congratulations you two! Third place goes to Lucy and Thorne. Lucy's beautiful use of her rare celestial magic earned her this spot. Solidifying her spot was Thornes unique beautiful powers. Congratulations. Fourth place goes to Miss, Levy McGarden. Her beautiful use of script magic melted the judges hearts! Well done my dear. And last but not least fifth place goes to Wendy and Marcus. Their on stage charisma and use of magic was incredible, Great job! Ladies and Gentleman please give our top five a big round of applause!" Mr. Harris stepped back and looked at the top five as the crowd gave them a big hand.

Natsu and the others looked up at their friends on the stage. They looked so happy right now. If only they knew what he knew, they might not be so happy. Once the room calmed back down Mr. Harris walked back up to the microphone "Alright well done, well done. Now we only have one more contest before we decide the ultimate winner! The question round! Isn't that exciting? Yes, super exciting! So come prepared for anything and I will see you all again tomorrow! Goodnight and good luck!"

Mr. Harris began to walk off stage and the top five followed him. Laxus watched Mira begin to leave. The urge to go up and talk to her was incredibly strong but he knew he had to go see Jellal. Laxus looked over at Natsu who was staring after Lucy. He knew Natsu must have been thinking the same thing. "Hey Natsu remember we have to go see Jellal, so lets get going." Laxus said hoping to get Natsu's mind off Lucy. Nasu sighed sadly as he began to follow after Laxus and Gajeel.


	15. Chapter 15

"I can't believe Jellal still didn't tell us what he knew!" Natsu said grumpily as he and Laxus headed to the hotel lobby. "We went to his little hide out after the competition and still nothing!" Laxus looked over at the pissed fire dragon slayer with irritation. Sure he was a little pissed too but this kid had been bitching for over an hour now. "Natsu you heard what he said, he is doing research to back up his theory. We have to have a little patience, we can't afford to have any mistakes with this." Natsu crossed his arms and sighed with defeat. "Fine! But I'm still pissed." Laxus rolled his eyes at his impossible friend. "Yeah well to bad kid. you will get your answer when he has one."

Levy and Lucy were getting ready for the lunch date they were having with the Devain brothers before the last contest. Lucy hadn't stopped chatting about how wonderful Thorne was since they had gotten up. "I think you will really love him Levy! He is everything I have ever wanted in a man. He is smart, sexy, and super funny." Lucy giggled as she walked over to their mirror to do her hair. Levy raised a questioning eyebrow at her friends description of Thorne. Thorne just didn't see like the smart type, considering all he ever really talked about was his face. "Sure Lucy, I will take your word on it." Levy said as she finished with her makeup. "Oh, this is so exciting. Come on lets go meet up with the others." Lucy squealed as she grabbed Levy's arm and rushed out of the room.

Levy and Lucy met up with Erza and Mira in the hotel lobby. Erza was dressed in a cute yellow sun dress, with her hair pulled up in a high ponytail. Mira was dressed in a short orange sun dress, her white hair falling gracefully down her back. "Hey guys, are you all ready to go?" Erza asked her eyes twinkling with excitement. "Absolutely!" Lucy said happily as she readjusted her tight black dress. "Were we meeting the brothers at the restaurant?" Levy asked already a little tired of this little outing. "Yes, they had a few things to do before lunch so they said they will meet us there." Mira said with a sweet sigh. "So we have about an hour before we are suppose to meet them. Anyone up for a little shopping?" Lucy said eyeing Erza with a knowing smile. "Shopping? I am totally up for shopping!" Laughing all four girls grabbed their purses and headed towards the mall.

Laxus, Gajeel, and Natsu watched as the girls headed out of the lobby. "Someone should follow them." Gajeel said quietly "And I recommend that fire breath not be the one to go." Offended Natsu looked at Gajeel and asked "Why the hell do you say that?" Gajeel gave Natsu a droll stare "Because blending in and staying out of sight isn't something you are very good at." Natsu was about to object when Laxus held up his hand to silence them. "I agree with Gajeel, so therefore Gajeel you can follow them ." Gajeel looked over at Laxus with disbelief "Me?! You've got to be joking!" Laxus smirked at Gajeel's shocked face "Yes, now you better go catch up." Growling at his sucky luck, Gajeel took off after the women. Natsu sat back and crossed his arms "I never get to have any fun!" He pouted to Laxus as he watched Gajeel rush off.

Levy stood outside the changing rooms waiting for her friends. They may have had only an hour to shop, but this was the third store they had been too. Erza sure knew how to shop. Levy sighed as her three friends finally exited the changing rooms. "Did you find anything worthwhile?" Levy asked, ready to leave. "We sure did!" Erza said happily. "I found exactly eight outfits that I just could not live without!" Lucy rolled her eyes at Erza "She is being a little dramatic!" Mira put a hand to her stomach as it growled loudly. "Well ladies, I don't know about you but I have had enough of shopping! Lets go eat!" Levy shook her head in agreement. "Please, I'm starving!"

Ten minutes later Levy found herself in a very fancy restaurant. "Wow, this place is amazing!" I've never been to such a fancy place before!" Levy said in wonder. "Wonderful! We were hoping to treat you all to something special." Said a deep masculine voice. Levy shivered at the voice, as she turned to face Virion.

As Levy turned around she came face to face with the Devain brothers. Thorne gave Levy a superior smirk. "Well guys take a look at this. Our girls have brought their pretty little friend along." Thorne walked over to Levy and Lucy sliding his arms around both their shoulders. "But that's alright" Thorne continued "The more pretty faces the better," Levy tried to squirm out from underneath Thornes thick arm. "Uh thanks, I think. So can we get something to eat?" Levy said growing increasingly uncomfortable. Maggart laughed at Levy's question "Sure, that's why we are here after all. Come our table is this way." Maggart said as he grabbed Erza's hand and began to lead them through the restaurant. Finally freeing herself from Thornes arm Levy began to follow. This just couldn't get over fast enough. She loved her friends but these guys were giving her the creeps. Arriving to their table Levy took the seat at the end by Mira. They ordered their food and the waiter quickly scurried off. Levy watched as her friends made goo goo eyes at the brothers making her even more uncomfortable. She grabbed her glass of water and took a sip. She happened to glance over at Virion who was watching her intently. "So Levy its finally nice to meet you in person, we've heard so much about you." Virion said as Mira put her head on his shoulder. "Oh you have, have you? I hope it's been all good." Maggart turned from Erza with a smile "Oh its all been very good, I promise you!" For some reason that comment made her very nervous. "Your performance yesterday was very impressive. And I will tell you right now I am a hard man to impress." Virion said with an almost evil look in his eye. Levy squirmed in her seat wishing she was anywhere than where she was . "Thank you Virion, but I must say I have never seen anything like the magic you and your brothers practice. If I may ask what kind of magic do you practice?"

"Ugh! Now where are we going? It's lunch time and I haven't eaten yet!" Natsu whined holding his stomach as he followed Laxus. "Shut up you baby!" Laxus said in annoyance as he hurried down the hall. "Jellal just sent word that he needs to see us, so hurry it up!" His hunger forgotten Natsu picked up his pace. "Shouldn't we go get Gajeel then?" Laxus shook his head. "No time. We will just have to fill him in later."

When they reached the room the two dragon slayers entered the room immediately. Jellal looked up from his table as they entered. "Good I'm glad you could make it so quickly." Natsu crossed his arms and gave the mage a hard look. "Do you finally have something important to tell us? Or am I going to get seriously pissed for missing lunch, just to come down here." Jellal gave him a look of boredom, "Yes, oh impatient one, I have important news to share. so please come take a seat." Natsu and Laxus moved around the table and took a seat as Jellal went and grabbed an old book from his bag. "So as you are both aware, I have been doing research on the Devain brothers and I have found some interesting information about them. Or lack there of." Laxus raised his eyebrows "What do you mean?" Jellal answered as he took his seat. "Well I asked a friend of mine to do some research into their past. He found absolutely nothing. They have no records to be found anywhere." Natsu stared at Jellal hard. "So where do these creeps come from? And why are they here."

Jellal returned Natsu's stare. "The first question I have no answer too. But the second I may have one. When I was at the last event something about the particular magic the brothers were using brought back an old memory. I recalled something I had read about a long time ago in the magic counsels library. This book was a book about old lost magic. Some people even refer to some of this magic as dark magic. " Natsu leaned back in his seat and sighed. "And what does this tell us about the brothers?" Jellal held up the book he had retrieved from his bag. "This is a copy of the book from the magic council. Last night I researched the Devain brothers magic. And I was right. Each of the Devain's brothers individual powers match a power in this book." Laxus leaned forward his eyes gleaming intently. "So you are saying these brothers are practicing an ancient forgotten magic?" Jellal shook his head as he opened the book. "This type of magic has not been seen or practiced for centuries. Most of the abilities of these ancient magics are still unknown. This book tells what historians do know about them. Thorne practices a magic called Rose Magic. This magic allows its casters to summon indestructible vines with poisonous thorns on them. The pollen from the roses can paralyze its victims and if ingested it causes certain death." Natsu scowled at the book. "The way Thorne was showing off it looks like he can do a lot more than what that book is describing."

Jellal nodded in agreement as he flipped to a new page and continued. "On this page it describes a magic that I believe Maggart to be using. His magic his called Star Magic. Star Magic allows him to summon copies of Celestial spirits and control their powers. It also says here he can enslave real spirits. Some believe wizards that practice this magic can also take on the shape and sounds of people around them." Laxus put his head in his hands and said "This just seems to be getting better and better. And the last brother?"

Once again Jellal flipped through his dusty book. "The last brother Virion, I believe is using Vortex Magic. Vortex Magic allows him to open portals and teleport himself and others to different places and dimensions. It also allows him to summon big amounts of power to create indestructible shields. And if he focused this energy he can send off catastrophic beams of power."

"Well I don't really see what the big fuss is about. Sure their powerful but we have fought worse, right?" Natsu said as Jellal shut his book. "Wrong, one on their own is bad enough Natsu. But with three of these guys using forbidden magic makes this a whole lot worse. If the brothers even think of syncing their powers we are all pretty much screwed." Jellal said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright I get it they are powerful. But how do we stop them?" Laxus asked as he glared at Natsu. "Our only hope is to take them out one by one. If they are together we don't stand a very good chance. If any at all." Jellal said with a tired sigh as he leaned back in his chair.

"Not that I'm not glad that we have figured out that they are evil and all, but we have seemed to have forgotten something very important." Natsu said as he got up and began to pace. "What do they want with our friends?" Natsu asked Jellal. Jellal sighed as he turned to a page in his book and handed it to Natsu. Natsu grabbed the book and stared at the illustration on the page. "According to the book magicians that practice this magic can exponentially increase their power with a ritual. This ritual requires a partner that holds great power." Jellal explained as Natsu and Laxus stared at him in horror. "And what kind of ritual are we talking about?" Laxus asked with a low tense voice. Jellal stood up and crossed to the window before he continued. "The ritual requires a union with the partner. And even after the union the partner must be kept alive and well cared for. The reason for this is, the healthier the partner is, the more power they can siphon from them." Natsu slammed the book shut and stared at Jellal. "So you're saying that Lucy and the others are their power boost? And what is this union you keep yammering on about?" Jellal turned around and looked Natsu right in the eye. "That is exactly what I am saying. These brothers picked Erza and the others for a specific reason. What that is I still don't know. But as for the union, in this day and age it is what we like to call marriage." With that Laxus got up from his seat so fast the table turned over. "We have to go find the girls! We have waited long enough, this ends now! Competition be damned!" Laxus said as he and Natsu raced towards the door. "I agree." Jellal said quietly as he raised his hood and followed after them,

Levy and the Love birds finally had finished lunch and were walking back to the hotel. "Wow that was an amazing meal!" Lucy said as she clung to Thornes arm. He turned and brushed his hand against her cheek. "Not as nearly amazing as our beautiful faces!" He said as he leaned down and kissed her. Levy was about to roll her eyes and walk away from them when she noticed a faint glow behind Lucy's right ear. Confused she angled herself closer to Lucy trying to get a better look. As she got closer she noticed that it looked like a small white rose. As Thorne pulled away from the kiss the white rose mark dimmed until it was almost unnoticeable to the naked eye. Quickly moving away from them Levy moved over to Mira. She wondered if her other friend had a strange mark on her as well. Looking at her friend closely Levy barely managed to catch a faint white star marking behind Mira's right ear. "No way!" Levy breathed "I bet this is why they are acting so strange! I bet they are under an enchantment." To confirm her suspicion Levy slowly walked over to Erza. Sure enough behind her right ear was the mark of a white spiral. Terrified Levy decided she needed to find Gajeel, Natsu, or even Makarov. "Hey guys I think I better take off. It was fun though! Thanks for letting me hang around." Levy said as she turned to leave. "Hey now you can't just go, the party's just getting started !" Virion said as he grabbed her arm roughly. "Hey let me go! I want to leave!" Levy said her voice shaking. "Just got done talking with the boss." Maggart said to his brothers. "Theres been a change in plans. We need to go right now." Levy turned to her friends desperate for them to help her. "That's unexpected in the best kind of way!" Thorne said happily.

Suddenly Gajeel came out from behind a stand in the street. "I believe the lady said let her go! Now do it before you lose that hand." Gajeel said with venom in his voice. Pushing Levy to his brothers Virion laughed "Bring it on metal boy! You're not going to win this fight." Levy screamed as a thick vine wrapped around her and the other three girls. For the first time Lucy, Mira and Erza looked afraid. "Thorne what's going on? Please let us go!" Lucy said clearly frightened and confused. Thorne shook his head. "No can do gorgeous! This is for your own protection. Have you summoned the protector?" He asked Virion who shook his head yes.

"Hey the screaming is coming from over there!" Natsu said as he Laxus and Jellal raced down the street. "Damn it! We might be too late!" Laxus said in frustration as another scream rang through the air. The men burst onto the scene just in time to see Gajeel get blasted off his feet. Jellal rushed over to check on Gajeel as Natsu turned to take in the scene, what he saw horrified him. Lucy and the others were suspended into the air by thorn less vines. "Natsu!" Lucy cried in fear. "Please help us! I'm so sorry please help me! Help us!" Natsu clenched his fists in anger, as he summoned his power to the surface. "Don't worry Lucy I'm coming for you!" And with that he launched himself at the smug face of Thorne.

Laxus stared stunned at the frightened crying face of Mira. When Mira spotted him she reached out to him and cried his name. "Laxus! Laxus please get us down! Please help us! We can't use our powers!" Summoning his lightening Laxus rushed at Virion prepared to make him pay!

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu screamed as he rushed at Thorne. Thorned laughed and used his vines to deflect the blow. Natsu was sent flying back as a result of the deflection, his head smacking hard against the ground as he landed. "Come now Salamander you have to be able to do better than that or this won't be any fun," Thorne said in a taunting tone. "No Natsu! Leave him alone Thorne!" Lucy screamed as she still struggled to get free. "Shush now kitten. Best not worry about him, since you now belong to me." Thorne said as he blasted another vine at Natsu striking him in the face, "I don't belong to you! I hate you!" Lucy said as she stared at Thorne with hatred. Thorne laughed as he walked over to face her. "You do now, but later when your seal is re powered you will belong to me once again and love every minute of it." Natsu got shakily to his feet. _Man this guy hits hard!_ But he couldn't afford to fail. "Hey asshole over here!" Natsu yelled as he once again rushed Thorne. But he was too slow Thorne grabbed him with his vine. The vine wrapped itself around his ankle and sent him flying into a brick wall.

"The time for playing is over!" Virion yelled to his brothers. "Lets finish this quickly, father is waiting!" Gajeel and Jellal stood in front of the brothers as Laxus hauled a bleeding Natsu to his feet. "We are not letting you leave!" Jellal shouted as he caught Erza's eye. "Please Jellal be careful!" She shouted at him. "Gajeel please, don't let them take us!" Levy cried out to him. "This is boring lets finish this now!" Maggart said as all three brothers raised their hands and pointed at Jellal and the others. The brothers began to chant in an ancient forgotten language, their hands began to glow a dark red. Jellal paled and turned towards the others "Get down now!" He screamed as he tacked the others, barely being directly hit by the strange magic. The air around them constricted, when it became unbearable that's when it exploded around them. The explosion sent them painfully flying in all different directions.

"Well that was fun!" Virion said as he looked at their unconscious enemy. "We should just kill them now!" Thorne said as he started towards them. Maggart grabbed his arm and held him back. "Not yet! Father has something planned for them." Thorne sighed in disappointment and turned towards Juvia who just arrived. "Ah good you finally made it." Juvia bowed "Yes master I came as quick as I could." Maggart turned to Virion "Are you prepared to leave?" Virion nodded as he closed his eyes and summoned his powers again. The power opened just as Jellal and the others regained consciousness. Noticing that their friends were awake Levy and the others had enough time to call out their names before they were shoved into the portal. Natsu closed his eyes as a frustrated tear leaked out. He knew Lucy desperately screaming his name would haunt him until he could find her again. "Don't worry Lucy I'm coming for you and the others! I will save you or die trying!"


	16. Chapter 16

Laxus slowly got up and looked around. There was a massive hole where they had been standing when the brothers shot that massive bolt of energy at them. Jellal had been right, if he hadn't have knocked them down, they wouldn't even be alive right now. Laxus walked over to the crater that was still smoking, he could sense the strange magic still radiating off it. "Damn it!" He growled as he looked around at the destruction. They had failed them. He had failed Mira, she begged him to save her and he couldn't do it. She had counted on him to and he hadn't been enough.

A cough broke Laxus out of his dark thoughts. Laxus turned towards the noise and found Gajeel struggling to get up. "What the hell just happened?" Gajeel groaned as Laxus helped him up. "We failed to stop them." Laxus said angrily. Gajeel gave him a dark look. "This isn't over. They may have gotten away but this is far from over!" Laxus gave Gajeel an appreciative look. "You're right thank you. Come on lets find the others." Gajeel nodded his agreement and began to painfully follow after Laxus. "Fuck! They blew this place all to hell!" Gajeel said as he looked at the destroyed town square. "They were just playing with us and they caused this much destruction." Gajeel continued shaking his head as they continued through the rubble. "At least we finally have a worthy opponent!" He laughed loudly.

"There is someone over here, metal head!" Laxus shouted with irritation. "I need your help moving this rubble off of them!" Gajeel rushed over and both men began to move large pieces of debris off a trapped Jellal. "Damn, how is he?" Gajeel winced as Laxus picked up Jellal's head. "The lucky bastard is just unconscious." Laxus said as he shook his head in amazement. Jellal groaned in pain as he slowly opened his eyes. "Erza…? Where are they? Did they get away?" Jellal coughed and winced in pain. "Easy now you're pretty banged up" Gajeel said softly. Laxus looked back at Jellal who was staring at him hard. "Did they get away?" Sighing Laxus looked at him sadly "Yeah, they got away." Jellal closed his eyes as a small tear escaped and rolled down his cheek. "I am sorry I failed you Erza. I will make it up to you. Have no fear I will come for you!" Jellal opened his eyes and shifted painfully onto his knees. "We need to get moving!" Jellal said as he finally rose to his feet. "Not that I'm not all for hunting them down but where do we even start? Gajeel asked as he and Laxus rose to their feet. "And Natsu is still missing." Laxus added as he scanned the debris filled ground with his eyes. Jellal sighed as he turned to face his friends. "Alright here is the plan we find Natsu then we need to head to my room. I need to grab my book!" Gajeel scrunched his face in confusion. "What book? Do you guys know something I don't?" Laxus waved off his questions "I will fill you in later. Lets find Natsu."

The three men split up to search the debris for the missing dragon slayer. "Guys over here!" Gajeel shouted to the others. Laxus and Jellal rushed over to Gajeel. All three men began to move debris off Natsu. When he was finally freed Jellal helped him sit up. "Are you ok?" Jellal asked him with concern. Natsu turned to him, fire in his eyes. "Where are they? Where can I find the bastards?!" Laxus grabbed Natsu's arm and hauled him to his feet. "Let's go get your damn book Jellal. I know this kid he doesn't care if he is hurt or not, he just wants revenge." Jellal slowly rose to his feet as he looked at his new friends. They all looked tired and beat up, and they still had a long journey ahead of them. "Very well, lets get moving."

As Natsu and the others rushed into the hotel Wendy ran up to them with panic in her eyes. "Is it true? Have Mira and the others really been kidnapped?" Natsu put his hand on Wendy's shoulder as he looked her in the eye. "Yes it's true, but don't worry we will bring them home." Crying Wendy threw her arms around Natsu looking for reassurance. "Hey Wendy can you do me a favor? Would you please look after Happy for me? I really want him to sit this one out." Wendy looked at him and nodded. "Thanks I owe you one."

and the other judges walked into the room. "We don't have time for this!" Gajeel growled with impatience. "Go grab your book Jellal. I will stay here and see what sparkle pants has to say. We will meet back up here." Natsu said to Jellal, who nodded in agreement. Natsu watched as Jellal and the others rushed out of the room to retrieve Jellal's book.

Natsu stood with the other competitors waiting to hear what the judges had to say. Natsu shifted with impatience, all he wanted was for Jellal to hurry up and get his stupid book so they could start their search for the missing girls. After for what seemed like eternity, took the stage. "Due to the unfortunate disappearance of our top four competitors the other judges and I or in agreement. Unfortunately we have decided to cancel the competition. As for the result money we will look at distributing it out to our top ranking competitors at a later time. We apologize for this unfortunate end to the competition and hope for the safe return of the Fairy tail mages. We hope to see you all next year, thank you for your participation and we again apologize for this inconvenience."

quickly stepped down off the stage as the crowd booed and complained. Natsu's stared at the crowd in anger. Were they were really complaining about their prize money while four members of his guild were missing? These people were unbelievable. Natsu tried to calm down as he began to walk to Jellal's room. He barely made it two steps when he felt a cool hand grab his arm. Ready to attack Natsu quickly spun around and came face to face with Gray. "What the hell happened in the town square?" Gray asked his eyes full of rage. Natsu looked at him, Gray's rage echoing his own. "The girls were put under an ancient enchantment. We went to save them and got our asses handed to us. The Devain brothers took them and we don't know where." Gray looked Natsu right in the eye his voice cold. "I'm going with you. I know you and the others are going after them and I want in. These are my friends too, my family. Plus they took Juvia."

Natsu held out his hand to Gray who clasped it with his own. "Happy to have all the help we can get." Just then Laxus and the others came running up to them. "We got the book, lets go." Natsu nodded his head once, looked at Gray and took off after the others. "Hey Jellal, why did we need the book? I thought it only described their magic." Natsu asked Jellal as they rushed out of the hotel. Jellal shook his head as they turned down the street. "This is a different book. I never go the chance to finish explaining what I had figured out. The Devain brothers I believe are trying to bring about an ancient kingdom." Gajeel looked at Jellal with confusion. "Would this ancient kingdom go hand in hand with their weird magic?" Jellal nodded "Yes it does. I had a suspicion when I saw each brother happened to have the specific powers that they did. Come, I will finish explaining soon but we need to catch this train." The men made it just in time. Jellal bought the tickets and soon they were sitting on the train. "Oh god why did we have to take the train?!" Natsu said as his face began to turn green. "Quiet and listen!" Laxus said as Jellal opened the book and began to pass it around. "This is the Legend of the Black King. Legend tells of a dark king and his three sons that ruled over all things evil. In their quest to rule the entire land of Fiore the king and his sons must convert a power of pure light to the dark. If they can manage to destroy something of light their powers will grow exponentially. To the point where they would be unstoppable. In this legend the eldest son wielded Rose Magic. The second son wielded Star Magic and the third Vortex Magic. The king's magic was never revealed."

Natsu looked up from the book. "If this is only a legend what can this tell us?" Jellal grabbed the book from Natsu and flipped to the next page, then handed it back to him. "Legends are always based on some grain of truth. In this case the Legend of the Black King is true. A very long time ago the land was once under the control of a black king and his three sons. But this story has important details mixed up. The reason this is important is because I believe the Devain brothers are trying to recreate the Legend of the Black King." Natsu lowered the book and looked and Jellal in horror. "So the source of light they are corrupting with darkness…" Jellal nodded his head sadly as he finished Natu's sentence "Would be the girls. They are the union the brothers need for their powerboost."

Gajeel grabbed the book from Natsu with a growl. "Why Levy though? I get that Juvia was the guardian for the other three but what do they need Levy for?" Jellal looked at Gajeel sadly "Because Levy is not for the brothers. She was taken for the king himself." All the men looked at Jellal with shock. "You said nothing about a king!" Gray said to Jellal with anger. Jellal sighed exasperated. "If we are talking about them recreating the Legend of the Dark King wouldn't it make sense that there is a dark king too?" Gajeel slammed the book shut his anger boiling inside of him. "So does your great book tell us where we need to go?" Laxus asked Jellal tiredly. "Actually yes, in the legend the king had a castle on the tallest mountain in Fiore." Gajeel looked out the window his mind on Levy. "Of course because they couldn't come up with a more original place to put a castle. How long until we arrive?" Jellal looked out the window then pulled out his watch. "If we don't run into any trouble we should be their in about a day." Natsu sat up in shock and looked at Jellal. "A day?! you've got to be kidding me! Thats to long!" Jellal sighed and rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. "I know Natsu, I'm sorry but this is the best we can do. Unlike Virion I can't teleport. Lets just hope we get there in time!" Jellal sat back and turned towards the window. Each man had their minds on their missing friends. _Hold on! _They thought. _We're coming! _


	17. Chapter 17

Lucy stared at Natsu and the others in horror. She heard the Devain brothers chanting in a language she didn't recognize. Then Jellal knocked everyone over as the space around them blew up. Lucy and the rest of the women screamed at their friends in panic. Natsu and the others had to be alive! There was no way they were dead! "Are you prepared to leave?" Maggart asked Virion who nodded. Lucy and the others stared at their motionless friends. "Natsu! Natsu please wake up!" Lucy screamed desperately. A bright white light blinded her momentarily. Lucy turned her head to see a gigantic portal had opened in front of her. Terrified she struggled harder to free herself from Thorne's vines. "Lets go! I'm tired of this place," Thorne said to his brothers. Lucy turned back to look at her injured friends. She noticed that Natsu was moving a little. The last thing she and her captured friends could do was call out their names.

It was dark and cold in Virion's portal. All Erza could hear were her friends screaming and crying. She was scared too. And she hated them all the more for making her afraid. God she felt so stupid. She had been tricked by the brothers. She had introduced them to her friends, to her family. She was responsible for this. A tear leaked out of her eye as she remembered the terrified look on her friends faces. The look on Jellal's face as he came into the town square and saw her tied up in Thorne's vine. It was all her fault but she would get her revenge.

It was seconds but it had felt like hours to them. When they finally stepped out of the portal the women found themselves in a huge grand room. "It's like something out of a fairy tale don't you think?" Maggart asked slyly. Thorne laughed "Well entertain our guests I will go and retrieve father." His brothers nodded as Erza watched Thorne turn and leave. Still bound in Thorne's vines Erza struggled to get loose as Maggart laughed. "Struggle all you want but you won't get out until Thorne releases you." Maggart said in an amused tone. Virion and Maggart turned from the women and walked over to two large chairs on the other side of the room. They sat down and watch their prisoners with amused looks.

Giving up Erza sank to the floor, tears falling from her eye. "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault!" She cried to her friends. Mira sat down next her and looked her in the eyes. "This is not your fault Erza. This is not anyones fault, it just is. What we must focus on now is getting away." Erza looked up at her friends happy they weren't angry with her. "Besides Natsu and the others are coming. We will be ok!" Lucy smiled happily. A dark laugh killed whatever happiness they had felt. The girls turned around to see a dark handsome man enter the room. "I'm sorry to ruin your hopes ladies but their will be no rescuing. In a few hours you won't even want to be rescued. You are at your new home and soon you will be very happy." Erza looked at the dark new stranger and sneered "We already have a family and home at Fairy tail. Who are you?" The man laughed again as he waved his hands at the vines making them disappear. "My name is Zadicous the ruler of this castle." Mira stared at Zadicous and old memory tugging at the back of her mind. Erza tried to summon up her magic but failed. Zadicous laughed again as he crossed the room and took a seat next to his sons. "Don't bother Titania you won't be able to use your magic until I say you can." Lucy stared at him rubbing her sore wrists. "Thats impossible you can't control our magic!" Amusement radiated from Zadicous as he took a drink from his glass. "Yes he can." Levy murmured to her friends who turned to stare at her with shock. "What how?!" Lucy shrieked at her friend. "He uses Blood Magic, he can control our magic, our minds, and our bodies, But my question is how did you learn such an ancient and forbidden magic?" Levy questioned as she did her best to stare Zadicous down. Zadicous looked at Levy with a look of amusement and admiration. He got up and walked over to her. "I knew if anyone figured it out it would be you. But as for your question that is going to have to be answered at a later time. I am impressed ."

Zadicous turned sharply around to face his sons. "Take our honored guests to their room and get the servants to prepare them for the ceremony. Take their guardian with them, I want them prepared within the hour. We will not make the mistake of waiting to long. As Thorne's little Lucy pointed out we can expected company very soon. I want the unification ceremony done before that." Maggart got up and walked over to his father. "What about their seals? They will keep fighting us until they are recharged." Zadicous walked over to Levy and brushed a hand over her cheek as she cringed. "Yes I suppose you are right." He turned towards Juvia and pointed his hand at her. Strange red markings tracked across her skin. With a twitch over his finger the markings flared a bright red, sending Juvia crumpling to the floor shrieking in pain. "Juvia!" Mira screamed in panic as Virion held all the girls back. Turning back towards Maggart Zadicous said. "If they don't listening to you this is your leverage. The pain is so intense if you use it to many times the water mage will surely die. This will just have to work until I recharge the seals within the next hour."

The brothers smiled at their new advantage as their father began to walk away. Virion looked at the distressed women. "Thank you father, Come along ladies time to show you to your new room." The woman looked at the brothers with complete hatred but followed for Juvia's sake. Virion led them down several long hallways until they ended in front of a huge elaborate door. Virion opened the door and ushered them inside. "You will be getting ready in here. The servants will be here to help you prepare shortly. and if you think of trying to escape we will know." Virion said venomously as he pointed to the corners of the rooms where lacrimas sat. "Also the servants will not be afraid to induce pain on dear Juvia." Lucy swung around to face Virion. "You don't need to worry. We will do as we're told. Leave Juvia out of it!" She said to him coldly. Virion just laughed as he stepped out of the room and locked the door behind him. Erza ran up to the door and pulled on the handle, when it wouldn't open she slammed her fists against the door and sank to the floor. Lucy fell next to her and hugged her. Mira ran to Levy and gave her a fearful hug. "What's going on Levy? I don't understand!" Mira cried into her friend's shoulder. "I think we just found ourselves part of an old legend. The Legend of the Black King." Mira pulled back and gave Levy a look of shock. "The Black King, no way." Lucy said. "I thought that was just a made up story." Erza stood up and helped Lucy to her feet. "So did I, but now that Levy said it I can only agree with her." Mira looked around the huge room in desperation. "What can we do?" Erza looked over at Juvia still curled up on the ground in pain. "Without them destroying Juvia, I don't know if there is anything we can do." Lucy turned towards the window. _Natsu please hurry!_

The bedroom doors flew open and dozen servants walked into the room. Some were carrying bags containing different long white dresses. Others were carrying containers full of makeup and hair accessories. The many servants fell on them in a flurry of clothes and beauty accessories. They stripped them of their clothes and forced them to try on a dozen different gowns. Once they were satisfied with the dresses next come the hair. Again dozens of hair styles were tried until they agreed on the perfect style. Last came the makeup and jewelry. That didn't take nearly as long as the other fashion sessions. When it was all done Levy felt like she had been violated in some way. Her head and face burned with all the hair pulling and eyebrow plucking. When she looked in the mirror though she had to admit she looked beautiful. She was dressed in a flowing white wedding dress. Her hair was woven into a beautiful design on top of her head. The hair stylists placed a crown with large red jewels in the center of the design. When her other friends stepped back in from their makeovers Levy thought they looked stunning.

Erza was dressed in a long slim lace wedding dress. Her hair had white flowers braided into it. She looked like a vision of grace and beauty. Lucy was dressed in a large white ball gown. The bodice of the dress was decorated with green jewels. Her hair was gracefully braided into an intricate bun on top of her head. Mira was dressed in a tight fitting wedding dress. The bottom of the dress flared gracefully out. A blue sash was tied around her waist and fell to the floor behind her. Her hair was pulled up into a half bun. The rest of her hair was decorated with pearls. Levy walked over to her friends and took Erza and Mira's hands. Four servants walked up behind them. "Time for the finishing touch." One of the servants said. Each servant held in their hand a long beautiful veil. Each servant placed a veil on top of each girls head, completing the outfits.

"Go let the masters know that they are ready!" The head servant said to a small shivering girl. The girl squeaked in fear as she rushed out of the room. Lucy closed her eyes as a single tear escaped out of her eye. "We aren't going to be able to get out of this, are we?" Mira reached out and brushed the tear off of Lucy's cheek. "We just need to keep faith that everything is going to work out." Mira said with more hope than she actually felt. The doors flew open as five huge guards entered the room. "Come with us." The guard in front ordered. Erza looked at her friends sadly but nodded her head. She moved towards the guards and the rest of her friends followed. The guards led them down the hallway towards the center of the castle. They stopped in front of the largest doors that Mira had ever seen. Once the doors were pulled open the women were ushered into a large ball room. In the center of the ceiling hung a beautiful large golden chandelier. In front of them a large red carpet led up to a beautifully decorated altar. On each side of the carpet were large vases full of roses. At the end of the aisle stood Virion, Thorne, Maggart, and Zadicous himself.

Virion raised his hand and shimmering stars appeared suspended in the air. Levy began to feel herself panic. She felt trapped and wanted to bolt. Lucy grasped her hand, keeping her from acting on her instinct to run. Zadicous laughed and waved his hand in a forward motion. The guards used their weapons to urge the women forward down the aisle. Once the were at the altar the brothers grabbed Levy's friends hands as Zadicous claimed hers. With victory in his eyes Zadicous pulled out a knife from his jacket pocket. Levy began to shake in fear as he began to chant in his strange ancient language, his eyes changing to the color of blood. Levy tried to bolt but found that she could no longer control her bodies movements. She looked at her friends in fear. Judging by her friends expressions she could tell they had come to the same realization. They were trapped and there was no escape.

Continuing his chant Zadicous raised his hand and sliced his palm open with the knife. He then passed the knife to Thorne who mirrored his fathers actions. Thorne passed the knife on to his brothers who both mimicked the action. As each brother laid open their palms the joined in on their fathers evil chant. Once all the mens hands were cut Zadicous seized Levy's right hand and as fast as lightning cut her hand open. Blood seeped over her hand and onto the floor. The brothers again followed their father's actions and cut Mira, Erza, and Lucy's right hand. Continuing the chant Zadicous looked straight into Levy's eyes as he clasped their bleeding hands together, his sons doing the same to the other girls. Hands still clasped Zadicous began to chant. "I as the Black King bind myself to the light of Levy McGarden. Unite us in darkness and let our powers spread across the land. Let my darkness seep into her soul and show her the true power of magic." Levy felt herself growing cold, as a hardness seemed to grow around her heart. She felt a large unimaginable power begin to grow inside her. At first she resisted the temptation, but as Zadicous finished the chant and leaned in and kissed her, she lost the battle and fell gladly into the darkness. As their lips touched a burst of power rushed out into the room. When she pulled back from the kiss she turned to the others. The brothers recited their fathers chant substituting their names in. Levy looked on with a strange satisfaction as she watched her friends turn from light to dark. She couldn't figure out why but she was happy that they were no longer a part of the light. As people always said evil always had so much more fun. The room had grown cold but no one seemed to care. Levy looked over at her friends, something was different about them. They seemed cold, dark, and yet happy. Levy smiled at them, as they met her gaze. Zadicous put his hand around her waist as she smiled at him. "Congratulation my sons, you have found yourselves beautiful wives. Now it is time to solidify these unions. Go, and enjoy your first night as husbands and wives!" Zadicous watched as his sons grabbed their new wives and led them from the rooms. Smiling he took Levy by the hand and led her to his room that they would now share. "I must say you looked ravishing!" Levy blushed as he pushed open his bedroom door. "Thank you, you looked very handsome." Zadicous closed the door and turned toward her his eyes dark with lust. "I think it is time to enjoy our first night as husband and wife, don't you think?" Levy straightened her shoulders and looked her new husband straight in the eyes. "Yes." She murmured as Zadicous led her towards the bed.


	18. Chapter 18

Natsu woke up with a start. Something wasn't right, no something was horribly wrong. Natsu sat up in his seat anxiously looking at the the others. Gajeel looked at him with deep concern in his eyes. "Did you just feel that?" Gajeel asked as he rubbed his chest with his hand. "If you mean, did I feel like a part of me was just ripped away, then yes, yes I did." Gray looked at the others in confusion. "I didn't feel anything." Laxus looked at Jellal his eyes filled with worry and fright. "What was that?" Jellal put his hand over his heart, his breathing heavy. "We are too late. The union is completed."

Laxus clenched his hands into fists. "What are you saying? That our mission is now hopeless." Natsu looked over at Jellal, fire in his eyes. "No! I won't accept that! These are our friends, we are not giving up on them!" Jellal returned Natsu's fiery gaze with one of his own. "You think I would give up that easy?" Jellal laughed. "Not even close! Erza wouldn't give up on me that easily and I will not give up on her!" Pulling out his watch Jellal looked at the time. "We should be arriving there in about five hours. I suggest for everyone to try and get some sleep. Who knows when we will get the chance for sleep again."

Natsu watched as Jellal pulled up his hood and sank back into his seat, the others following his example. Natsu sighed, he knew it would be pointless to try and sleep. Not after what just happened, he literally felt as if someone had reached into his chest and yanked his heart out. He knew then something horrible had happened to Lucy, something unforgivable. And judging by the others reactions the something had happened to Mira, Levy, and Erza. Sitting back in his seat Natsu looked out the window. Deep down his gut he knew something bad was going to happen. Sighing he closed his eyes as his thoughts wandered to Lucy. _Hold on just a little bit longer Lucy, I'm almost there!_

Mira woke up to the sun shining brightly into the room. Smiling she rolled over to find a rose and note lying on Virion's side of the bed. Beaming she picked up the rose to smell it as she read the note. _My beautiful Mira, I hope you slept well, I am sorry to leave you alone on this beautiful morning but there are a few things my brothers and I must accomplish. When you are ready to begin the day ring the bell that's by the side of the bed. A maid will be in to help you prepare for the day. She will then take you to your friends. I can not wait to return to you tonight. Missing you already, you're loving husband, Virion. _Mira kissed the note and smiled. She really wished Virion would have been there, but she understood that her husband was a very busy and important man. Sighing Mira got up and wrapped the sheets around her naked body. Last night had been one of the most incredible nights of her life. Mira blushed as she rang the bell, for the maid. A couple seconds later a small fat woman came bustling into the room. "Good morning milady, I hope you slept well." Mira nodded as the woman scurried over to the huge closet in the room, and started rummaging through it. "Ah here we go, a wonderful orange dress for you. Lord Virion will love this on you!" The maid said as she pulled out a gorgeous orange dress. Mira couldn't help but agree, Virion would love it. After she was dressed the maid led Mira down the hall and into another massive room. Mira was happy to see her friends were already there. "About time you woke up!" Erza said happily as she munched on an apple. Mira stuck her tongue out at her, then turned to Levy. "Is Zadicous gone as well?" Levy looked wistfully over to the window. "Yes, he said he had to help his sons fortify the castle. He said its to protect us. They even took Juvia to help them." Erza looked over at Levy with confusion. "Protect us from what?" Levy reached over and grabbed another apple. "He said from people that wanted to take us away from them." Lucy shook her head. "That's impossible. Thorne would never allow that to happen!" Erza laughed as she leaned on the table looking at Lucy. "Speaking of Thorne, its your turn to talk about last night!" Lucy blushed scarlet red and looked at Mira for help. Erza gave a wicked laugh. "She can't help you. Besides its her turn next!"

"Thank God!" Natsu screamed as the group stepped off the train. "I hate riding those fucking things!" Jellal looked over at him and rolled his eyes. "Hurry. this way to the mountain." Natsu jogged to catch up with them, his motion sickness forgotten. "How long until we get there?" Laxus asked as they jogged through the small little village. "If I am not mistaken we should reach the castle before the end of the day." Jellal answered as he led the group away from the village and into the woods. The group pushed on moving at a steady pace. After a few hours of steady hiking, Jellal pointed towards the mountain. "There! Can you see it?" Gray turned with the others towards were Jellal pointed. He craned his neck up and sure enough far up on the mountains peak was the dark ominous castle, "Huh, I expected nothing less." Gray said as he rubbed the back of his neck. Jellal tugged his hood down lower. "Now the trick is to get up there without any trouble." Gajeel raised an eyebrow at Jellal. "Do you think that is even going to be possible?" Jellal took a step forward as he muttered darkly. "Not even in the slightest."

The sky was beginning to darken as the group made their way up the mountain. "Not that I'm complaining but I thought you said there were going to be traps?" Gray said to Jellal as he moved around a boulder. Jellal looked around uncomfortable. "There will be. But what worries me is that we have not run into any yet." Laxus looked to the sky as his friends talked quietly around him. Something was building in the sky something familiar and powerful. "Guys look to the sky!" Whipping around Gray saw the storm clouds gather, and the rain come pouring down. "Juvia!" Natsu grabbed Gray's shoulder. "Gray they changed her. She is not the same person that we know!" Juvia stepped out from behind a large boulder. "You have gone far enough, turn back now or prepare to die!" She said to them in a dull tone. Gray took a step toward her, his hands held up in front of him. "Juvia its me Gray, we mean you no harm." Juvia threw her arm out in front of her. "Come no further! I can not allow you to pass! I must protect my charges from all who wish them harm!" Gray took another cautious step towards her. "We don't wish to harm them, Juvia! We came to save them from the Devain brothers!" Before Gray could even react Juvia shot him with a burst of water, knocking him off his feet. "Liar! You are the enemy! I will stop you or I will die trying!" Juvia shrieked as she sent a slash of water at the group.

Natsu jumped avoiding the attack. He moved to attack her when Gray yelled at him. "Natsu I can handle this on my own. Take the others and find the girls!" Natsu hesitated, he didn't like the idea of splitting up. But one look at Gray's determined face he knew his friend could handle it. "Just be careful Gray. She isn't in her right mind, so don't kill each other." Gray smiled at his pink haired friend. Taking his shirt off he said. "Please have a little faith, I got this! Now go!" Nodding, Natsu looked at the others and took off towards the castle. "No! No one may pass!" Juvia shrieked as she turned to attack the escaping group. "Ice-Make Lance!" Gray shouted as he attacked Juvia to get her attention off of his friends. Of course his attack passed through her body of water, unharming her. His attack was only meant to distract her, and it worked. "You will regret that!" She screamed as she rushed to attack him.

Gajeel and the others finally made it to the castle entrance. It was very quiet and erry. Jellal reached for the door carefully. Yanking it open they all stepped inside the black castle. "This is too easy." Gajeel said looking around the room suspiciously. "We have no choice but to move forward." Laxus said as he he moved deeper into the room. The group moved farther into the building, checking various rooms for their missing friends. "How many damned rooms are in this forsaken place?" Natsu growled as he slammed a door shut. They continued down the hallway when a familiar laugh echoed through the silent hallways. "Lucy!" Natsu breathed. "Quickly this way!"

The group followed after Natsu as he rushed after the sound of Lucy's laughter. "I can smell Lucy and the others now!"Laxus said. Picking up their speed they turned two more corners before Natsu paused in front of a huge door. "They are in here." Natsu said before he crashed through the door. The group piled into the room. Natsu scanned the room until his eyes landed on Lucy. Something was different about her. She looked the same, but her presents was different. She seemed cold, her eyes were missing their warmth and brightness. Lucy looked at him and gave him an evil smile. And in that moment he knew this was not his Lucy.

"Natsu, Gajeel, Laxus, and Jellal We're so happy you came." Lucy said as she moved to stand closer to Erza. "We have been expecting you for awhile. We were beginning to think you weren't coming." Lucy continued in a cold tone. Before Natsu could talk Jellal stepped forward. "Lucy, please listen to me, you are all in danger. They placed a spell on you. You have to fight it." Erza cocked her head to the side as she stared at Jellal hard. "They put no spell on us, They showed us the truth of power, the truth in life." As Erza finished talking the door to the room swung open and in walked the Devain brothers and a new strange man. "Ah so our visitors made it after all. I was hoping the guardian would have kept them busy a little longer, but now is a fine time as any." Natsu and the other swung around putting themselves between the girls and their enemy. "Who the hell are you?" Gajeel snarled at the unfamiliar man. Laughing the man held his hand out to Levy, she came running over to him and grasped his hand. "My name is Zadicous Devain. I am the ruler of this castle. I believe you met my sons." He said as he gestured to the brothers. "But I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you have traveled all this way for nothing. You see these girls are now married and have no desire to leave." Gajeel glared at the so called king. "Your so called marriage means nothing to us. They did not marry you of their own free will, and the affection they show you now is nothing but an enchantment!"

Zadicous laughed as he wrapped his arm tightly around Levy's waist. "Come now ladies why don't you explain to our guests that you are happy here." The girls all laughed as the moved to stand by their new husbands. "Yes, we are very happy!" Mira said as she kissed Virion on the cheek. "I never want to leave!" Erza said as she wrapped her arms around Maggart. "I would rather die than be parted with my true love!" Lucy said as she clasped her hand with Thorne's. Natsu ignited his hands as he glared at Thorne. "No matter what you have them say I will not believe it. I know my friends and they would never want to stay here. They would want to be back with their friends and family at Fairy Tail. Because that is their home, thats were they belong! They belong with the people that actually care for them!" Lucy and the others looked at Natsu with deep confusion. Lucy stared at him as she whispered. "Fairy Tail…..?" Zadicous's face turned hard and cold. "Maid take the ladies back to their room!" He ordered, as the maid quickly escorted them from the room. Laxus summoned his powers preparing to fight. "And our job is to bring them home!' He said as lightning crackled around him. Gajeel transformed his arm into a metal sword. "We will bring them home!" Jellal summoned his Heavenly body magic to the surface. "Failure is not an option." Natsu engulfed his arms in his flames. "I'm all fired up now!" And with that they lunged to attack the enemy.


	19. Chapter 19

Erza anxiously looked back at Maggart as the maid hurriedly shoved her and her friends out of the room. "Hurry, this way my ladies!" The maid said fearfully as she rushed them down the hallway. Once they reached the room the maid opened the door and ushered all the women in the room and locked it behind her. Erza ran to the door and tugged on the handle. "It's locked! Why would they lock us away?" Mira stared towards the door a strange longing filling her. Laxus, the way he had looked at her. filled her with warmth. He had stared at her with longing and protectiveness. Mira shook her head in confusion as she turned towards her friends. Lucy sat on one of the beds rubbing her head. That Natsu guy, she remembered him of course, but her memories were clouded. The memories seemed incomplete, as if someone removed important details from her mind. Levy sat down next to Lucy and touched her forehead. "Hey, are you O.K.? You aren't worried about Thorne, are you? I promise they will be just fine." Lucy sighed as she buried her head into her hands. "No, it's not Thorne, I'm sure he will be fine. It's just those men from our guild, they weren't like I remembered." Mira sat down on the other side of Lucy. "What do you mean? They came to take us away like Zadicous said they would." Lucy shook her head as she began to tremble. "Natsu he wasn't like how Thorne and the others described. He seemed like he actually cared for us, like he cared for me." Erza knelt down in front of Lucy and clasped her hands between her own. "Lucy don't worry about it. Our husbands love us, they wouldn't lie. We must have faith in them." Erza said, but as she spoke she felt her own doubt rising. That man Jellal, the way he looked at her, she knew there had to be a serious history between them. But like Lucy, her memories felt altered. Shaking her head Erza tried to put those thoughts out of her mind. Who was she to question her husband and king? Lucy looked at Erza, her eyes glistening with tears. "You're right. I know you're right, its just….." Levy grabbed Lucy's shoulder and forced her to look at her. "Erza's right put these thoughts from your mind. Please this is not the right time to doubt our husbands. But I agree there was something strange about those men." Levy knew there were things Zadicous had not told her about Gajeel. And she planned to find out how much he left out. And she knew that was a lot.

They sat in silence for awhile, then a furious yell broke the silence. The fight had begun. Mira clenched her hands tightly together, her nails biting into her palms. "The magic in the air is overwhelming! I have never felt anything like this!" Levy, Erza, and Lucy clutched each others hands in comfort as the sounds of fighting continued. "I can't take this much longer! I can't stand not knowing what's going on!" Levy said highly distressed. Lucy got up clutching her head. She paced to the window her heart torn. She prayed for Thorne to win. And yet Natsu, that man she knew she had a major history with, she couldn't bring herself to wish for his destruction. Some part deep inside her wished that he and his friends would win. Gasping at this dangerous thought Lucy turned her back towards her friends. She could never let them know she felt that way. Putting a hand back to her throbbing head, Lucy listened to the raging fight going on down the hall. "Fairy Tail….Natsu!"

Natsu was the first to throw a punch, going after Thorne. Thorne was prepared for his magic, making it so the vines on his roses were almost made out of indestructible steel. Natsu kept charging at Thorne, but he would always block each hit, making his roses bloom a blue, which turned them into little shields. Thorne kneeled on the ground, smirking. "Nature's Beauty!" he screamed, a magic circle appearing as several vines wrapped themselves around his body, making it into a giant suit of armor. Several different roses bloomed in different colors. Natsu would have scoffed at the flowers if he didn't know that each one was dangerous.

Laxus was fighting against Virion, which he knew wasn't going to be easy. Virion was the first to strike, using his vortex magic to send tainted, raw magic at him. Virion's magic was better when he had some magic to deflect, but Laxus knew this and was attacking him as if he didn't have any magic at all. As soon as he got close enough, Laxus shot lightning from his mouth and almost hit Virion, but it got deflected and instantly went for Gajeel, who was having a stand off with Zadicous. Laxus panted as he dodged most of the raw magic shots, but the damage it would deal when it hit him varied. He finally got close enough to him. "Thunder dragon fist!" he screamed, hitting Virion right in the face and sending him flying. He was stunned for a minute until he slowly sat up, laughing quietly, and gradually getting louder. "You think that is enough to tear me away from Mira? No such luck!' he said, getting up. Dark magic swirled all around him as random portals started to open up around the castle.

Jellal and Maggart were almost equally matched. Jellal was using his Heavenly Body Magic and was clashing with Maggart, who was using a Loke look alike to fight for him. Jellal did not want to fight the lion king at first, but then he remembered that it was not the original, but held the same amount of power, or maybe even more. "Heavenly palm!" he shouted, several beams of light went and hit the fake Loke, which instantly dissolved. Maggart just laughed. "That was just one, but can you really keep fighting celestial spirits?" A magic circle appeared on the floor as a Gemini fake appeared, and it quickly transformed into Erza. "And most importantly, can you fight our beloved Erza?" Jellal froze, unsure of what to do, He knew this couldn't possibly be his Erza, but something was nagging at him that this was his Erza, from her intense beautiful eyes all the way to her beautiful sword. "Erza...you don't have to do this!" He said, narrowly avoiding her sword. Maggart couldn't help but laugh. "She doesn't know what you're saying!" Jellal grunted in frustration as he dodges all of Erzas attacks. as he took a step back. No it must be a trick, this was not his Erza. "You bastard!" Jellal shouted as he rushed forward to continue the fight.

Gajeel huffed as Zadicous shot him back into a wall. Zadicous laughed as he watched Gajeel wiped blood from his mouth. "Did you honestly think you could save them?" Zadicous shouted as he shot a blast of power at Gajeel. Gajeel grunted as he tried to dodge it. "I don't think I can save, I am going to save them! Iron dragon's roar!" Zadicous laughed as he easily deflected the attack. "Is that seriously the best you can do? This is going to be easier than I anticipated. Let me make this easy on you people, we will never give them up. They belong to us! Let them go!" Zadicous said darkly as he lifted his hand towards Gajeel. "Eternal Darkness!" Gajeel gasped in pain as he fell to his knees. "Painful isn't it? I have the ability to quicken or slow the blood flow in your veins." Zadicous laughed darkly as he began to slowly curl his fingers. "I could kill you right now if I wanted too." Gajeel screamed as his body began to convulse.

Natsu whirled around as he heard Gajeel scream in pain. "Damn it!" he cursed as he threw Thorne one last murderous glare, as he took off after Gajeel. "Wait don't leave! Things were just getting good. Come on fire brat don't ignore my gorgeous face! " Thorne called after Natsu's retreating figure. "Fire dragon's roar!" Natsu screamed as he leapt att Zadicous. Caught off guard, Zadicous grunted as he flung himself out of the fires way. His attention off Gajeel, the spell broke. "Thanks pyro." Gajeel said as he rose painfully to his feet. Natsu gave him a weary smile as he scanned the room with his eyes. An amused laugh interrupted the fighting men. "Great job Salamander, I can honestly say I was surprised. But not surprised enough." Zadicous said as he narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Huh, next time I won't miss! Enough talk where's Lucy and the others?" Natsu growled as he ignited his right hand.

Zadicous smirked as he tilted his head to the side. "Ah, the protector returns!" And with that the massive doors were kicked open. Natsu and the others stared in horror as Juvia strolled in dragging an unconscious bloody Gray in behind her. Laughing the brothers lept away from their opponents to take their place by their father. "What, how was Gray defeated!?" Laxus asked as he took a protective step towards his wounded friend. Juvia turned towards her guild mates with an empty look in her eyes. "It was not easy to defeat him. But then I remembered something important. He cares for me, so I just simply used that against him." Zadicous knelt down by the unconscious Gray and touched the open wound on his head. Smirking he looked up at his new enemies. "What shall it be boys, shall I make all of his blood rush out of his wounds? Shall I freeze his blood in his veins? Or shall I boil it?" Gajeel and Natsu growled and rushed forward only to be stopped by Jellal and Laxus. "We are to far away to stop him. Don't do anything stupid, if we rush him now Gray will surely be killed!" Jellal hissed at them. Laughing at their distress Zadicous stood up, his hands glowing. "I see, you care for your friend very much. Very well I will offer you a deal. If you leave now I will spare his life. But if you don't I will surely kill him." Gritting his teeth Laxus turned towards Jellal. "We have no choice!" Shaking with rage Jellal glared at Zadicous. "Very well. But be warned I will not rest until I kill you!"

Grinning Maggart stepped forward and opened a portal. "This was not part of the deal!" Gajeel yelled as Thorne and Virion began to herd them towards the black portal. Zadicous laughed. "No I never said I wouldn't shove you into a portal. Just like I didn't say I would return Gray to you. In fact I think I will keep him and make him another protector." "Like hell, you fucking bastard!" Natsu yelled over the wind of the portal. "Good bye Fairy Tail brats. But take heart your dear friends will be cared for here."

"Ah! I can't take it anymore! I need to know what's happening!" Erza shrieked as she rushed the door. Mira looked at Lucy with concern. "She's right! We need to get out of this room and find out what's going on." Levy sighed as she looked at her friends. She wanted to get out as bad as they did. The question was how. "Erza don't you have some scary armor or weapon you could use?" Erza looked at Levy with surprise. "I do, but Maggart told us not to use magic." Lucy shook her head in frustration. "I think now is an exception. Just do it!" Erza immediately summoned a weapon and rammed the door open. All the women rushed out of the room and down the hallway. As they approached the room Mira could hear shouting. She could hear that man Laxus shouting at Lord Zadicous. The sound of desperation in his voice stabbed at her heart. She didn't know why but she wanted to go to him, to comfort him, to protect him. Erza whipped the door open, and Mira would never forget what she seen as she stepped into that room.

Laxus and his friends were about to be pushed into the portal, when suddenly the door flew open. Shocked Laxus watched as Mira and the others entered the room. His heart felt lighter knowing that she was ok. Mira glanced over at Laxus, and she once again felt that familiar tug in her gut. Just as she was about to go to him, Virion roughly grabbed her arm and whipped her around to face him. "What the hell are you doing here? I told you to wait in the room!" He screamed at her his face contorted with fury. Mira shrunk away from him as pain laced its way down her arm. "I'm sorry we were all worried!" Zadicous and his other sons were also yelling at the women. Maggart went as far as slapping Erza across the face.

Natsu watched the whole scene with disgust and fury. He then realized that this was his chance. With Zadicous and the brothers distracted he summoned his powers and jumped away from the portal and through the ceiling. Zadicous noticed his escaped and shouted. "No! Hurry before they all get away!" Virion snapped out of his fury, and pulled the portal closer. "No, Erza!" Jellal screamed in frustration as the portals suction pulled him and the others in. Then he was enveloped into the darkness.

Erza watched in horror as the blue haired mage and his friends were sucked into Virion's portal. She was surprised to feel her heart begin to ache. This was ridiculous, she could barely remember the man but she felt as if she had known him her entire life. She whirled around to Maggart and returned his earlier slap. As her hand cracked across his cheek, she gave a satisfied smile before she glared at him. "What the hell is going on? Who were those men? And for gods sake Maggart tell me the truth!" Putting a hand to his reddening cheek Maggart turned and glared at Erza. "I told you the truth, they were men from your old guild. They felt the need to try and take you and the others back. We simply stopped them." Lucy turned on Maggart her eyes shining with fury. "That's not the whole truth! There is more to it than that. That man, Natsu he wasn't just a random person. We have history I can feel it. But yet I can't for the life of me remember it!" Thorne kicked the still unconscious Gray onto his back as he replied to his angry wife. "You don't remember them because they are not important. You don't need to remember them." Levy whipped around to face Zadicous. "Who gives you the right to mess with our memories? To decide for us if we want to leave the guild or not?" The air around Zadicous began to crackle with electricity. "Enough! You all belong to me, that in itself gives me the right to do whatever I please with your minds, bodies, and memories! Sons take your wives to your rooms! Levy you will stay here with me!" The brothers quickly obeyed their father and ushered the women out of the room. Zadicous turned to Juvia as he called five new servants into the room. "Protector take this ice mage to the throne room and bind him in the shackles, I will be there shortly. As for the rest of you clean this room up." Juvia nodded as she hoisted Gray off the floor and began to dragg him down the hall. Levy looked after them with concern. "What do you plan to do with him?" She whispered. Zadicous laughed as he grasped her hand. "Well first I intend to torture some anwers out of him." Levy looked at her husband shocked. "What answers?" Zadicous grinned as he started to lead them to the throne room. "Well our guest shocked me. I don't like to be shocked, I need to better know what I am dealing with. Besides my dear this will be fun!"

Natsu leaned back from the hole he created from the ceiling. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Now not only were the woman in trouble but now Gray too. Natsu rubbed his eyes in frustration. He really wish the rest of the group was here. He hadn't wanted to leave the group but he wasn't about to be sucked into that vortex either. Natsu stood up and jumped back down into the hole. _First things first, I need to find Gray! Then I will come for you Lucy! _Natsu looked around the room carefully then headed towards the door. "Hurry up Jellal, I have a feeling this going to turn ugly fast!"

Gajeel grunted as his back slammed painfully onto a hard surface. "Fuck!" He cursed as he slowly sat up. "What the hell was that?" Laxus grumbled as he rubbed his head and looked around. They were all sitting by a large lake in what seemed to be the middle of no where. "That was one of Virion's portals. And it seems that he didn't dump us as far away as he wanted to. We have Erza and the others to thank for that!" Laxus gave Jellal a confused look as he got up. "Why do you say that? Cause this looks like the middle of no where to me." Jellal chuckled and pointed across the lake. "The mountain is right over there." Gajeel huffed as he walked over to join them. "OK what good does that do us? As I'm sure you noticed we didn't do much good against them. And now we have lost both Gray and Salamander." Laxus gave Gajeel a hard look. "Are you telling us you are giving up?" Gajeel shoved away from Laxus and snarled. "Hell no! I just don't like going into a fight if I know I am going to get my ass handed to me!" Jellal gave the two dragon slayers an annoyed look. "That's enough! That fight Gajeel, showed me what I needed to see. I think I have a way to give us the upper hand." Gajeel looked over at Jellal and gave him a wicked smile. "Excellent!"


	20. Chapter 20

Natsu growled in frustration as he whipped around another corner. This castle was a fucking maze! Normally he would use his nose to track his friends, but something about this castle was now preventing him from doing that. Natsu stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked around. It was official he was hopelessly lost. "Damn bastards!" he grumbled. "This changes nothing, when I find you I still will kick the ever living shit out of you!" Looking around the hallway, he sighed as he shook his head and resumed his search for his missing friends.

Lucy stood in the corner of her room as she watched her husband irritably pace back and forth. She trembled as she watch him clenched and unclenched his fists in anger. She thought she had knew him, loved him even, but now she that was a lie. After the fight with her old guild mates Thorne had practically drug her back to their room. Once inside he had slapped her across her face splitting her lip and bruising her face. All Lucy could do was stare at her husband as if he was a total stranger. Thorne had reached out and touched her bloody lip as if the sight of her bleeding amused him. After he stared at her blood for a minute, he began to scream at her. "How dare you disobey me Lucy, I specifically told you to stay in that room and to not leave it until I came and got you! Do you realize you cost us the battle? If you women had not shown up those Fairy Tail brats would not have escaped! You successfully just made my job 100 times harder! I don't know if my beautiful face can handle this much stress!" Lucy just stared at Thorne in horror and slowly backed herself in the corner of the room, trying to put as much distance between them as possible. Thorne had stopped screaming after a while and began to pace. She tried her hardest to be invisible and quite. Thorne had never truly scared her before. She had never felt so small and defenseless.

Thorne growled in anger as he turned to face Lucy. Lucy cringed as his eyes landed on her. Very slowly she brought her eyes up to meet Thornes. His eyes were dark and cold. Lucy caught a flicker of pleasure in his eyes as he caught the look of fear on her face. Smirking he walked over and pressed her hard against the wall. His body felt cold as he crushed himself against her. Lucy swallowed a whimper of fear as Thorne lowered his mouth to her ear. "Are you afraid of me now dear wife? I have to tell you, I find your fear very attractive." Thorne whispered cruelly as he began to kiss her neck. Lucy squirmed uncomfortably underneath him. Thorne laughed as he gripped her arms with a bruising force. "Tonight was a good example of the punishment you will receive, if you ever disobey me again. Do you understand me wife?" Lucy swallowed her tears as Thorne began to pull at her shirt. "Yes, husband, I understand."

Lucy began to tremble with fear and disgust as Thorne began to tug persistently at her clothes. Just as she began to panic the door to the room burst open. Maggart and Virion strode into the room taking in the scene. Gasping Lucy quickly pulled her shirt back down. Thorne growled in anger as he turned to meet his brothers amused grins. "Damn it can't a guy get a little privacy in this hell hole?" Laughing Maggart clapped his brother on the shoulder. "Man I would have told you to get a room but under the circumstances…." Thorne threw his brothers hand off his shoulder as he glared daggers at him. "Man, what the hell are you doing here?" Virion sighed as he leaned against the door. "Father is sending us to look for those Fairy bastards. He wants us to find them before they breach the castle again. Its really a boring task if you think about it." Thorne scoffed as he glanced toward Lucy. "Unbelievable, and what about her and the other women?" Virion studied his nails in boredom. "They will be under fathers careful watch while we are gone. All the necessary precautions have been taken. Now hurry up, I am impatient to return and give Mira a proper punishment." Sighing in irritation Thorne grabbed his jacket and walked to the door. Turning to Lucy he gave her an evil smirk. "Don't fret love, I will return soon, and when I do we will finish what we started." Thorne winked, then closed the door leaving Lucy in darkness and complete misery.

Natsu continued his hopeless journey through the maze of hallways and doors. He growled in frustration as he punched the wall. "Damn it, where are you guys?!" Natsu was getting ready to punch the wall again when he heard the sound of a familiar voice crying. _Lucy!_ His heart clenching in anticipation and concern, Natsu took off after the sound of her voice.

Lucy sat hunched, with her arms wrapped around her knees. She wanted to disappear, she didn't want Thorne to ever touch her again. Lucy wanted to hate him and yet she felt unnaturally drawn to him. Her mind was screaming at her to run but her body betrayed her. She was no longer attracted to him and yet she couldn't leave. That left her with only one conclusion, she was cursed. They had cursed her and she had no idea how to free herself. Lucy's mind began to wander to the men that had tried to save them. Deep in her heart she knew that she knew them. She knew they had played a huge part in her life. Especially the man with the spiky pink hair. He was different from the others, he meant something more. Lucy rubbed her temples as the space behind her right ear began to ache. Cursing under her breath, Lucy stood up just as the door from her room was kicked open. Fearing it was Thorne Lucy rushed towards her bathroom, just as the pink haired man from her memories walked quickly into her room.

Natsu crashed into the room, his eyes anxiously scanning the room for Lucy. When his eyes landed on her, his heart instantly softened. As he slowly walked closer to her he noticed the dry blood and darkening bruises marking her fair skin. His eyes blazed with fury as he silently swore to beat Thorne to death.

Lucy gasped in fear as the strange yet familiar man moved towards her. She was confused by his strange actions. The way his eyes lit up with happiness and relief when he had seen her. The way his eyes sparked with anger when he saw her injuries. The man moved closer to her, and Lucy found herself unafraid. What was it that led her to not fear this man. His eyes cautious the pink haired man gently put his hand on her arm. "Lucy are you all right? Lucy do you remember me? It's Natsu your partner!" Lucy looked up at the man with a dazed expression. She concentrated on his face for a minute, as she was about to give up, it was if a fog had been lifted. Lucy carefully lifted her hand and placed it on Natsu's cheek. "Natsu? Is that really you?" She asked in a wavering voice. Smiling, Natsu clasped her hand that was still on his cheek. "So you haven't completely forgotten me!" Lucy's eyes began to tear up as she gave Natsu a thankful look. "You came! You actually came for me!" Natsu gave her a questioning look, "Of course I came you! I will always come for you." Crying Lucy threw her arms around Natsu in a tight hug. Surprised at her tears Natsu returned the hug with a little concern. "Lucy why are you crying?" Sniffing Lucy hugged herself closer to Natsu. "For several reasons. One I'm just so happy to see and remember you. But I'm also afraid." Pulling back from her, Natsu gave Lucy a confused look. "Why are you afraid? I won't let him touch you again!" Shaking her head sadly, Lucy wiped at her tears. "It's not just Thorne I am afraid of, I am afraid of myself. I am afraid of what I might do. I can't always control my actions or memories. And that truly frightens me!" Natsu lifted Lucy's chin with his finger, bringing her gaze up to meet his. She was surprised to see warmth and tenderness in his gaze. "Lucy no matter what happens I will get you out of here. I promise on my life I will get you safely back home." Lucy gave another soft sob as Natsu wrapped her in another warm embrace. They stayed that way for a couple of minutes until Natsu drew back. "How well do you know this castle?" Lucy shifted so she could see Natsu's face. "Not very well I;m afraid. The brothers keep us pretty well confined to our rooms." Natsu sighed as he ran a hand through his spiky hair. "Do you at least know where the throne room is?" Lucy gave him a curious look "Yes. I could also take you to the others. But other than that I'm lost." Natsu shot to his feet dragging a surprised Lucy with him. "Finally a little luck! Let's quickly get Erza and the others. Then we need to go rescue Gray!" Lucy quickly stumbled after Natsu as he rushed her out the door. "Are you sure dragging me with you won't slow you down?" Natsu turned and gave Lucy an intense look. "There is no way I am ever letting you out of my sight again. Come on lets go find the others!" Lucy smiled happily as she felt a deep blush rise on her cheeks. "Alright lets go!"


	21. Chapter 21

"We have been walking for hours Jellal, tell me we are almost there." Gajeel complained as the small group continued their long trek up the mountain. Jellal ignored the Iron dragon slayer as he looked up towards the sun. It was only a few more hours until the sun would set. Sighing Jellal shook off his exhaustion and began to pick up the pace. "Hurry up men, we have to reach the castle before night fall. Who knows what trouble Salamander has already gotten into." Laxus jogged to catch up with the mysterious blue haired mage. "Jellal be honest, how far away are we? It seems we have been walking around in a big circle." Without looking back at Laxus, Jellal continued to push on as he answered. "Not far actually." Laxus scowled at Jellal's answer. "Than why are you acting so nervous all of sudden?" Rubbing the back of his neck, Jellal finally stopped to look at his new friends. "Because I am waiting for the Devain brothers to show up. I know that they aren't going to wait for us to attack them at the castle again. They are going to try and keep us as far away from the girls as possible. I am trying to avoid them as much as I can." Growling in irritation Gajeel stormed up to Jellal. "Why? Are you saying we can't take them on and win?" Jellal smirked at Gajeel. "No, I believe with us all working together we can take them down. But my first and most important concern is saving the girls. Also when we do finally face them again we need Natsu by our side. Like it or not the pyro is one of our most powerful fighters. Now quickly, enough talking we are almost there."

Zadicous looked around in triumph as the Protector finished tying up the unconscious ice mage. Zadicous looked amused as the ice mage hung suspended from the iron manacles. Oh this would be fun! Maybe at the end of it he would place his seal on the man. Well, if he didn't kill the ice wizard. It would be truly amusing to watch the fairy bastards fight their friend. "You may leave us now." Juvia nodded as she quickly walked towards the door. She paused slightly as she reached the door. For the first time in days she felt something. She felt a crushing pain in her chest. It was if her heart was telling her to turn around, grab the injured boy in the room and run away as fast as she could. Shaking her head to clear her confusion, Juvia left the room as fast as she could.

Levy watched in horror as her husband began to circle the injured Fairy Tail wizard. She had never seen such an evil look on a person before. "What do you plan to do with him?" Levy asked her husband with fear. Zadicous turned his black gaze on her. "Why? Do you fear for him?" Levy shivered as she felt ice race down her spine. "Yes, he doesn't deserve to die. He was only fighting to save us. He was only doing what he thought was right." Zadicous laughed evilly as he began to roll up his sleeve. "Don't worry dear, I don't intend to kill him. Not just yet anyway. I plan to have a little fun first."

Zadicous walked in front of Gray and put his hands to Gray's temples. A red light glowed from beneath his hands as Gray's eyes flew open. "Welcome back to world of the living. I'm so happy you could join us!" Zadicous laughed as he took a step back from Gray. "Screw you! What have you done with Juvia and the others?" Gray growled as he tugged at his restraints. Smirking Zadicous stared at Gray with amusement. "Not very pleasant are we? But I will be a gentleman and answer your question. Juvia is just fine, in fact she is the one that secured you to the restraints. She just left. And as for the others, I assume you mean the woman. As of right now they are just fine. But as for your little rescue team, their condition is a little less than pleasant." Gray scowled at the dark man in front of him. "What do you want?" Zadicous smiled as Gray continued to hover uncomfortably off the ground. "What do I want? A fascinating question really. I want to be able to live with my family in peace. I want to rule this kingdom as it ought to be ruled. I want Fairy Tail to leave me and my family alone! I want you to tell me how to defeat your friends. That's what I want!" It was now Gray's turn to laugh at the dark wizard. "You actually think I will help you? You must be dumber than you look! I will never betray my family, you would have to kill me first!" Zadicous walked over to Gray and got up in his face as he whispered. "That can easily be arranged, fairy brat!"

Levy stared at the scene in front of her with fascination and horror. The man in front of her was so brave, so devoted, and so familiar. Deep in her heart she knew she had met this man before. He had protected her, laughed with her, been a friend to her. And now she was helpless. He was about to be brutally tortured by her husband and she could do nothing for him. She was weak. Levy shifted farther from the men in front of her, hoping to escape what was about to happen. Her movement caught the attention of the familiar man. When he seen her his face lit up with relief and happiness. "Levy its you! Thank goodness you are alright!" Levy stepped forward in confusion. "You know me? So we have met before!" Gray scrunched his face with confusion and worry. "Of course I know you Levy, It's me Gray! We have known each other since we were little! Quickly go get the others and get out of here!" Before Levy could answer Gray, they were interrupted by Zadicous's mad laughter. "Levy and the others are going no where, that also includes you. Now if you don't mind lets cut the chatter, I have more important things to ask you."

Zadicous lifted his hand as his eyes began to grow red. As his eyes continued to glow, Gray's face began to contort with pain. Zadicous step up to Gray and slowly traced a finger down his back. Where his finger traced Gray's skin began to split open. Gray screamed as his skin began to slowly tear and boil as blood began to sweep from the wound. Levy pressed her hands to her ears to try and drown the sound. The sound of Gray's cries tore into her heart. The sick look of pleasure on Zadicous's face made hate swell in her heart.

Zadicous drew five more lines across Gray's back and one across his cheek before he stepped in front of Gray. "Are you ready to talk to me yet Ice Fairy?" Gray panted as sweat and blood poured from his face. "No way you bastard. You will never break me, so you might as well kill me!" Zadicous's face hardened, then faster then Levy could think possible he punched Gray in the face. "You will tell me what I need to know boy!" Zadicous screamed as he continued to beat Gray. Tears streaming down her face Levy raced up to her husband. Grabbing his arm she pulled him away as best as she could. "Please stop! You'll kill him!" Rage filling his eyes Zadicous back handed her as he screamed. "It will mean nothing to me if he dies! Leave me, get out of my sight! I need to concentrate on what I'm doing. Obviously you are not as strong as I thought. I thought you out of everyone would have known this is for the greater good." Levy slowly stood up as she faced her husband. Lifting a hand to her face she felt the blood running from her nose. "No, I will not leave you to kill my friend! You are a monster!" Zadicous stared at her with murder in her eyes. "Guards remove my wife from this room immediately!" Panicking Levy rushed to Gray and began pulling on the chains, "No! Gray I won't leave you! I can't you are my friend!" The guards came into the room and pried Levy off of Gray and pulled her from the room. "Levy, don't worry I will come for you and the others!" When the men could no longer her Levy's desperate cries Zadicous turned to Gray with malice in his eyes. "Now then where were we?"

Jellal was seriously surprised and confused. They had reached the castle without running into the Devain brothers. Either his planned worked or the brothers were dumber than they looked. Once they had reached the castle the small group had split up. Sure, they had agreed that they needed to take the Devain's out together, but they all had one thing in mind. The women. It was more than obvious that they were spread out in this castle. So it was decided it would be faster if they spread out to find them. Jellal squinted as he rushed down another dark hallway. He felt drawn in this direction. He was desperate to find Erza, she was all he could concentrate on. Jellal continued down the hallway until he finally came to a stop in front of a tall white door. From the other side of the door Jellal could hear the silent weeping of a woman inside. Jellal's heart began to beat faster as he recognized the sound of the voice. The voice belonged to Erza.

Erza just couldn't stop crying. Her heart felt as if it had been split in two. Who was the man she married? Who was the blued haired man from earlier? Erza brushed at the frustrating tears that just would not stop falling from her eye. she clutched her knees closer to her chest just as she heard the door quietly open. Erza quickly shot to her feet just as the blue haired man from earlier entered her room.

Jellal stopped as he took in the sight of Erza. Fear and happiness filled his heart as he looked at her. He was afraid she wasn't real, he was afraid she was just going to disappear right in front of him again. Tears filled his eyes as he slowly began to move towards her. As he got closer he noticed a darkening bruise on her cheek. The bastard had hit her. As rage slowly began to boil in his heart he made a promise to himself. He would destroy Maggart with his two bare hands if it was the last thing he would do.

Erza was oddly calm as the strange man moved towards her. Some how she knew he would never hurt her as Maggart had. As the man reached her Erza's heart began to pound in her chest. What was this? Was she excited to see this man? Was she attracted to him?

Jellal reached his hand out to touch Erza's face. What he really wanted to do was to wrap her in his arms and never let her go again. As his hand made contact with her face a small tear escaped his eye. "Erza I told you I would come! I kept my promise, I finally found you!" Erza put a hand on his chest as her brown eyes locked on to his. "I know you. How could I have forgotten?"

Shaking her head Erza stepped back from Jellal. Jellal looked at her in concern as he notice tears begin to stream from her eye. "I have been such a fool Jellal. I put my friends in danger and I do not have enough strength to protect them." Jellal reached for her again this time wrapping her in his arms. "You don't need to worry Erza. This is not your fault and you are not alone. We are all in this together and we will fight them together." Erza looked up at Jellal with wonder and sadness. "I have missed you so much, I'm so glad you came." At her words Jellal lost all sense of control. He could not wait any longer for this moment. He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Erza at first froze in shock. Never in her life did she imagine this moment would happen. Sure she had hoped for it, but she always had put it off as a childish dream. So instead of pulling away she pulled him closer. She shifted to deepen the kiss. She wanted to feel as much of him as she could in that moment. She was afraid to let this moment go because in that moment she realized she loved Jellal deeply. She always had.

Jellal hadn't known what reaction to expect out of Erza but this was by far better than he had imagined. Instead of shoving him away she had pulled him closer. She deepened the kiss and held him tight as if she was afraid she was going to lose him. The moment seemed to last forever and yet it ended too soon. Pulling away Jellal ran a thumb over Erza's bottom lip. "I can't tell you how long I have wanted to kiss you." Laughing slightly Erza shyly looked up at him. "I can't tell you how long I have been waiting for you to kiss me." Erza leaned in and hugged Jellal close to her. "We have to leave now don't we?" Sighing Jellal ran a hair down her long blood red hair. "Yes we have to meet up with others so we can get you guys far away from here." Pulling back Erza gave Jellal a hard look. "I won't leave you here alone to fight my battles. I am staying with you to the end of this!" Jellal was about to object but instead gave an amused laugh. "I should know better by now then to try and argue with you!" Jellal lifted up Erza's chin and gave her a quick soft kiss. "Come on lets go!" Laughing Erza slipped her hand into his and they quickly exited the room to go find their missing friends.


	22. Chapter 22

Gray clenched his teeth to keep from screaming as Zadicous created another deep bloody gash across his chest. "I will admit you're tougher than you look. But my patience is beginning to wear thin." Zadicous growled as he roughly jerked Gray's chin up. Gray laughed as he tiredly met the dark kings gaze. "Are you kidding? I thought this game was just getting started." Dark amusement glinted in Zadicous's eyes. Shaking his head Zadicous let go of Gray and stepped back. "You are either very stupid or very brave. And judging by the looks of you, I would say you are very stupid." Gray leaned his head back as he gave a dark laugh. "Of course you would believe my actions to be stupid. I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand why I'm doing what I am. People like you will never understand!" Zadicous narrowed his eyes as Gray continued to laugh. "Well then what am I missing? Because honestly I just don't see the point of all this. All you have to do is tell me what I want to know and your pain stops." Gray spat a glob of blood onto the floor then grinned at the man in front of him. "Right there you just proved my point. You don't understand the meaning of loyalty, friendship, honor, or family. You wouldn't understand my decision to rather die than betray my friends and family. You can torture me or even kill me but I will never betray my friends! That's what it means to be in Fairy Tail, I will always put them first!" Zadicous continued to give Gray a cold dark look. "You're right I guess I wouldn't understand all those things. But because I am free of all those unnecessary weights I do not have the same fears as you. I am free to take whatever risks I need to to win." Gray looked at Zadicous with disgust. "You are even willing to sacrifice your son's for this? You don't even care if they live or die?" Zadicous turned to one of the few remaining servants in the room and ordered them to bring him water and a wash cloth. "My sons know the risks of this operation. But to answer your question yes, I would sacrifice them to obtain my goal. It would be rather unfortunate if they would not be able to see the world we created. But as they are aware, it would be a noble sacrifice. They are prepared for this possibility. Now I know what you are thinking, you are thinking I am a monster. You are wondering how I could be so heartless to my own children. You see what you say makes you strong, I say makes you weak. This is why you will always lose."

Without warning Zadicous came over and raked his hands down Gray back. Blood spurted out of the harsh new wounds Zadicous created. Gray arched his back as he screamed in pain at the unexpected attack. Zadicous gripped Gray's shoulders as he leaned in close to his ear. "I just hope all of this was worth it. Because you refuse to tell me anything I guess I will just have to move onto the next best thing. You seem so intent on dying for your friends, so I will grant your wish." Zadicous moved his hand over Gray's heart as his hand began to glow. Gray looked at Zadicous with no fear in his eyes as the dark mage pressed his hand right over his heart. And that is when the pain started. An unimaginable burning pain scorched its way into his heart. Gray screamed as Zadicous's malicious laughter filled the room. As they pain slowly began to subside Zadicous pulled his hand away from Gray. The skin where Zadicous's hand had been was now marked with a glowing red pentagram with a crown in the center of it. Gray looked down at his newly marked chest. "What is this? What have you done to me?" Zadicous shrugged as he walked over to the bowl of water and began to wash the blood from his hands. "I gave you what you wanted. You have been spouting about how you are so willing to die for your friends, and so now you will. That pentagram on your chest has already began slowly releasing a rare poison into your blood. You will soon experience unimaginable pain, you will find it almost impossible to breath, your body temperature will begin to rise, and soon the bleeding from your wounds will be uncontrollable. But don't worry this poison works slowly, I wouldn't want you to die to quickly. What fun would it be if your friends can't see you suffer and die for them." Zadicous laughed as he dried his hands and began to stroll back over to Gray. Reaching up he began to unshackle Gray's wrists. Once he was freed Gray collapsed onto the bloody floor as he groaned in pain. "You are no threat to me now. But then again you and your friends never were. Oh and before I forget, the poison will render your powers useless. Looks like this game has gotten more interesting." Before Gray could respond Zadicous strolled out of the room leaving Gray to lie on the floor in his own blood.

"Where the fuck am I now?" Laxus muttered to himself. This castle was absolutely impossible. It was completely possible he was going around in circles, but he was desperate. He had to find Mira! Failure to find her was not an option. Nothing else at this point mattered. Laxus stopped to look around, he needed to get his bearings. _Now if I am a crazy psychotic criminal, where would I hide a kidnapped woman?_ Laxus thought to himself. Laxus growled in frustration as he decided to take the left hallway. "Mira, please wait for me! I promise I'm coming!"

Mira sat in front of her bathroom mirror and stared at her reflection. She slowly picked up a cold wet washcloth and began to wash blood from her face. Virion was furious when he had returned from the fight. She had thought he would be happy to see her. But she had been so so wrong. Once he had come into their room he had backhanded her so hard she had seen stars. He then picked her up by her hair and smacked her again. And then he had done the unthinkable, he had taken advantage of her at her lowest time. All he had said to her at that time was she needed to learn her place. Mira finished wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth and looked at her eye. She gently pressed the cool rag to her rapidly bruising and swelling eye. Her emotions were in total turmoil. She was terrified and confused. She had thought she and Virion had been in love. He had been so sweet and warm. He had treated her like she had been priceless. And then in that instant she had been nothing but trash. Nothing but ugly worthless trash. It had all been a lie, she knew that now. Virion and his brothers had tricked them. Mira felt so stupid, she had been tricked so easily. She wanted nothing more now than to leave this place and find the blonde man that had come to save her. The men that belonged to the Fairy Tail guild. But something was wrong with her. She hated Virion with every part of her being, she hated him. But she felt this unnatural attraction to him. And this ugly wanting for him made her sick. Mira shot to her feet knocking over her chair, tears of rage blinded her as she stumbled into her bedroom. _I'm weak! I couldn't even protect myself. What will I do when he comes back?_ Her heart filling with fear and frustration Mira picked up a vase and threw it against the wall. As the vase shattered into pieces Mira sank to the floor and continued to sob.

Laxus lurched to a stop as he heard the sound of shattering glass. Turning back around Laxus began to follow the direction that the sound had come from. Then Laxus heard a sound that cut him deep. As he reached a tall dark door, he could hear the sound of Mira sobbing on the other side. Laxus reached out and tore the door open and the sight that met him would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Before him sat the woman he had secretly been admiring for years. Relief quickly shot through him, but as soon as Mira lifted her head the relief was soon replaced but unimaginable rage. Her face was marked by bruises and blood. Laxus strode forward and gently scooped Mira up off the floor and took her to the bed. "Damn him! I will make him pay for this I promise!" Mira looked up at Laxus in confusion. "We know each other don't we? I know I have seen you before." Laxus stared at Mira, confusion and hurt in his eyes. "Of course Mira, you and I have known each other for a long time. We are in the same guild and we have went on many adventures together." Laxus gently took her hand as he looked at her with desperation. As soon as Laxus grabbed her hand memories began to work their way back to her. "Laxus….." Mira whispered as she gripped his hand tightly. "I knew they were lying to me. When I first seen you that night I knew we knew each other. I remember now, I knew you would come for me!" Laxus gently gripped her chin and drew her head up so she would meet his gaze. "You are safe Mira, I will never let him lay a hand on you again." As tears glistened in her eyes Laxus gently ran a hand down her bruised face. "Even though I was under their spell I felt as though a piece of me was missing. And no matter how hard I tried I couldn't find it, but now I know what I have been missing. I have been missing you." Laxus gasped at what Mira had just told him. He had been hoping that she had felt the same way for him. But he had never known for certain. Mira blushed as Laxus continued to stared at her with shock. "Well say something!" Mira said in frustration when Laxus still had failed to respond. Shaking himself from his surprised thoughts Laxus gently took her face in his hands as leaned down to kiss her lips.

At first Mira was surprised at his actions, Laxus wasn't known for showing affection. But her surprise was brief this is what she had been dreaming for for years. She wasn't about to let the moment pass. Mira leaned in closer and deepened the kiss as she wrapped her arms around Laxus's neck. This kiss felt nothing like Virion's. Virion's kiss had felt cold and possessive, she had always felt lost to him like he destroyed everything that made her Mira. Laxus's kiss on the other hand was warm, strong, but gentle at the same time. This is where she belonged here with Laxus, she was completely irrevocably his.

The kiss was better than Laxus had ever imagined it would be. She was warm and soft, she felt like home. Laxus growled with pleasure when Mira deepened the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. In that moment Laxus realized he belonged to Mira. He would never be able to love another woman the way he loved Mira. All too soon Mira ended the kiss and looked up at him shyly. "I wish that had been my first kiss." Laxus stroked Mira's hair as she leaned into his touch. Laxus could sense a deep sadness in Mira a darkness that wasn't there before. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you before Mira. But I promise I will never let you go again." Mira gave out a happy sigh as she felt Laxus wrap his strong warm arms.

The new couple sat in silence for awhile when a loud pounding sounded from the other side of the door. Mira flinched at the noise and pressed closer to Laxus. "Please don't let him touch me again! I would rather die!" Laxus pushed Mira behind him as he turned to face the door. "Do not be afraid Mira, I gave you my word I will keep you safe." Laxus tensed waiting to attack the intruder as the pounding on the door continued. The door flew open accompanied by a familiar annoying voice.

"Geez, finally! Do you even realize how long we have been looking for you?" Natsu said in an annoyed tone. Laxus relaxed as he gave the fire dragon slayer an amused smirk. "Yeah well it's not my fault you decided to ditch the group. Speaking of which what did you find out?" Natsu rubbed the back of his neck as he gave Laxus a tired sigh. "Not much sadly. The brothers left right after you guys were sucked into that vortex. But I did find Lucy, we were just looking for the others when we ran into you." Laxus watched as Lucy cautiously stepped out from behind Natsu. Anger swelled in his stomach as he saw the cut on her bottom lip and the purple bruise forming on her cheek. "Laxus….is that you?" Lucy asked as she stared at him with confusion. "Yeah Lucy it's me, we came to get you guys!" Lucy gave him a timid smile. When she noticed Mira she gave a frightened gasp and hurried over to her. "My god Mira, what did he do to you?" Mira sobbed as she fell into Lucy. "Oh Lucy, I was so frightened! I never thought he would ever do this to me! He hurt me Lucy more than just my face." Lucy gasped as she caught Mira's meaning. The air crackled with electricity as Laxus figured out what Mira meant. "I will kill him even if that means tearing this fucking castle apart brick by brick!" Natsu walked cautiously over to Mira. "Mira do you remember me?" Mira stared at him for a moment then gave a small nod. "Yes Natsu, I remember. Thank you for coming!" Natsu gave her a smile. "How could I not come? We are family after all." Mira gave a small laugh as she touched Natsu on the cheek. "Yes, we are family and family never abandons each other."

Laxus stood back watching his friends when he picked up a scent he knew all too well. He turned just in time to see Jellal and Erza walk briskly into the room. "About time you show up!" Laxus said to Jellal with a growl. "Lucy, Mira, Natsu you're here!" Erza said with relief as she rushed over to her friends. Natsu gave Erza a quick hug and headed over to the men. "What do you think those bastards did to them?" Natsu asked as he gave the girls a concerned look. Jellal sighed as he gave Natsu a sad look. "I told you they had to marry powerful mages to amplify their powers. And to accomplish that they had to consummate the marriage." Natsu looked over at Lucy then back at Jellal his hands giving off sparks. "So you're saying….." Jellal shook his head sadly as he looked over at Erza. "Yes, we will never be able to truly understand what they have experienced. And now that they are conscious from the spell right now everything that they have experienced is crashing down on them. The best we can do is free them from this curse and get them as far away from this place as fast as we can. We just have to be there for them." Natsu and the others looked over at the girls in sorrow. "We failed them, Jellal." Jellal nodded his agreement. "We just need to make sure we never fail them again. But we need to hurry. We still have to find Gray, Juvia, Gajeel, and Levy." Laxus and Natsu nodded as they went over to the women. "Come on we still have to find the others. Do you know where we can find Levy?" Natsu asked Lucy. "Yeah but her room is on the other side of the castle and that's were Zadicous will be." Laxus gave a wicked grin at the news. "Well then that just makes our job a little easier. Lets go!"


	23. Chapter 23

Gray grunted as he once again fell over. Zadicous had left him frustratingly weak and powerless. Gray panted as he once again tried to stand up, halfway up his back seared with pain as his legs gave out. "Damn it!" he cursed. No matter how long it took he was not giving up. Before he died he would see Zadicous dead and that was a promise. A quite sound caught Gray's attention. Before he could move a dark figure stood over him. Gray squinted his eyes trying to make out a face. "Juvia, its you!" "Oh Gray my love I am so sorry! I couldn't stop my actions, please forgive me!" Juvia crouched down in front of Gray. She desperately wanted to help him, to do anything to make it better. Gray grunted as another wave a pain wracked its way through his body. Juvia's heart filled with guilt at the sight of her beloved suffering. But she was too afraid to touch him, it was her fault after all. "Tell me what to do, my beloved! Tell me how to make this better!" Gray looked up into Juvia's eye's, he could see she was absolutely drowning in guilt. Gray slowly reached out and grasped her hand. "Juvia, this is not your fault. If you want to feel angry at anyone feel angry at Zadicous." Juvia gripped his bloody hand between her own as her tears began to stream down her face. "I should have been stronger! I should have been able to stop myself! I understand if you hate me, Gray you have every right too." "I don't hate you Juvia! I understand that Zadicous has cursed you. But what I need you to do now is pull yourself together and help me find Zadicous!" Juvia gave Gray an incredulous look before she nodded in agreement. Gray smiled as a look of determination came across her face. Finally his Juvia was back. "We need to get moving, can you help me up?" Juvia nodded as she wrapped an arm around Gray's waist and helped hoist him to his feet. At first Gray was completely blinded by pain and he was struggling to breath. "Are you sure you want to do this? You are in a lot of pain." Gray nodded as he began to move painfully to the door. "I have to do this, not only for our friends but also for myself." "Very well, I will help you!" Juvia said grimly as she tightened her grip on him. As they began their way down the hallway Gray began to feel his temperature rise. _We have to hurry before this poison immobilizes me! I need to stop Zadicous before he kills anyone else._

Natsu gripped Lucy's hand tighter as she lead them to Levy's bedroom. He passed Jellal a concerned look, all the women had began to shake violently the closer they got to Zadicous's room. "It's not much further." Lucy whispered as another violent tremor coursed through her body. Laxus gripped Mira's shoulders as they continued towards the room. "Are you sure you are ok?" Laxus asked her, the stress clearly evident in his voice. "It's strange, I am not shaking because I feel fear. It's something else…." Erza and Lucy nodded in agreement. "Then what are you feeling?" Jellal asked as Erza braced herself against him as more tremors rolled through her body. "I feel….. darkness." Natsu stopped at her words and he turned to face them. "What do you mean?" Lucy rubbed her arms as she answered. "I feel it too. It feel's like the closer we get to Zadicous the more the darkness calls. I feel like a vine is wrapping around my soul and it is dragging me back into the darkness." Jellal looked at the women with concern. "Maybe this is far enough then. I know you want to help but if getting closer to Zadicous means his curse is strengthening, you need to get far away." Erza looked at Jellal, fire in her eyes. "You can't do this without us. We will just have to fight this, we refuse to leave you now!" Mira and Lucy nodded in agreement as Jellal looked at them with conflicted emotions. Taking Erza's hand and giving it a tight squeeze, Jellal whispered. "Please don't make me regret this! You all need to come out of this alive!" Erza gave Jellal a sad smile. "We will if the rest of you do the same."

Jellal grunted as he motioned for the group to continue on. "It's that door at the very end of the hallway." Mira said as she pointed to the huge black doors. "Let's hurry!" Laxus muttered as the group rushed towards the door. Just as they were about to reach the room a huge dark figure barreled straight into them. Natsu grunted as Lucy fell right on top of him. "Ompf! What the hell was that!" "Damn it Salamander can't you fucking watch where you're going!" Gajeel grumbled as he tried to untangle himself from the group. "Me? What about you? You were the one that ran into us! This is clearly your fault!" Natsu yelled as he helped Lucy back to her feet. "Enough Natsu!" Laxus said as he glared at the fire dragon slayer. Jellal turned to face Gajeel and noticed that Levy was not with him. "Where's Levy?" Gajeel scowled at the blue haired mage in irritation. "If I knew don't you think I would have gone and gotten her already?" "Fair point." Jellal said as he raised his hands in surrender. Gajeel stood up and walked to the door and tugged it open. He peeked inside and cursed, no one was in the room. "No one is here! Damn it, where are you Levy?" Natsu turned to Lucy and the others. "I thought you said this was Levy's room." "It is I assure you. But Zadicous knew you all were coming, I am not surprised he is keeping Levy close to him." Erza said as she gave Natsu a stern look.

Laxus froze as he heard a strange noise. "Quiet, someone is coming!" Natsu moved towards the corner of the hallway waiting for his chance to attack. He gave it a few more seconds and just as he was about to take the first swing when he recognized the smell of two of his missing friends, "Gray, Juvia…..What the hell happened to him?!" Natsu cursed as he took in the sight of his best friend. Gray looked like total shit. "Fuck, he is cut all to hell!" Laxus said fury coloring his voice. Gray cringed as Juvia lowered him to the floor so he could sit. "Nice to see you guys too!" Erza rushed over to Gray so she could inspect his injuries. "Lucy, Mira check the bathroom for some bandages and rags!" As the two girls rushed off Erza brushed her hand over Gray's brow. "Why did he do this to you?" "He wanted to break me, His mistake, I would never sell you guys out." Mira and Lucy quickly reappeared with bandages, water, and rags. The women set to work bandaging Gray's wounds, while in the mean time Jellal pulled Juvia to the side. "You know what all Zadicous did to him don't you." Juvia looked down at her hands as she nodded. "You need to tell me, Juvia." "I messed up, and because of me he is going to die!" Jellal grabbed Juvia's shoulders and gave her a little shake. "Juvia I need you to keep calm! Now tell me what happened!" "Zadicous poisoned his blood! Gray is slowly dying and I don't know how to cure him." Jellal dropped his hands and he turned to look at Gray. Natsu stalked over to Gray and began to yell "What do you mean you're dying? You can't be hunting a psycho wizard, you should be finding a way NOT to die!" Gray gave Natsu an annoyed look. "If you would have listen to the entire conversation you were eavesdropping on, you would have heard there is NO cure!" Lucy choked a little as she looked at Gray. "You can't just die! There has to be something we can do!" Gray sadly shook his head as he stared at his friends. "We can't focus on me right now, we need to find Levy and stop the Devain's. That right now is all that matters." "Unacceptable!" Natsu grumbled as he yanked Gray onto his back. "Alright lets go find these bastards so we can save ice idiot here!" Without waiting for an answer Natsu took off down the hall leaving the others to catch up.


End file.
